


See What's Real

by Duthea



Category: Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexuality, Character Turned Into a Ghost, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Possession, Slow Burn, bi kids talking about being bi without knowing the word bi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2020-03-20 12:13:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18992446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Duthea/pseuds/Duthea
Summary: Daisuke has always been able to see ghosts, so meeting Miyako isn't anything new to him. But that meeting starts a series of events that slowly but surely changes Daisuke's life, and the genius Ken Ichijouji becoming his boyfriend isn't even close to the end of it.(or: The Ghost Miyako Story)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Heyooo it's time for slow burn so slow Ken won't even appear until next chapter! I'm bad at tags so if you've got ideas on what tags i should/could add let me know! Also I don't got a beta so if you see typos and stuff also let me know! Also also, if you're bad with second-hand embarrassment there's some scenes that might be uncomfortable so I'll just reassure you that things will be okay in the end! Trust me, I'm bad at that stuff too so I won't make anything awful happen!

"Hey," Daisuke said to the girl doubled over on the sidewalk, "are you okay?"

The girl turned to look at him, pushing her long hair out of the way to see him. A cherry blossom petal fluttered down in the warm spring breeze, right through the right lense of her glasses, and she blinked as it passed through her eye and disappeared.

"You can... see me?"

Oh no.

Daisuke had always been able to see ghosts, but they weren't as common as you might think. In ten years, he'd only seen about twenty, and it always caught him off guard. He glanced around to see if anyone was looking at him oddly for talking to himself. Nobody had noticed, but he leaned closer to the girl anyway.

"Yeah," he whispered, trying to look natural.

The girl's expression brightened, and she stood up.

"Finally! Jeez, it feels like I haven't spoken to anyone in forever! Oh, but I think it's only been, what, a week? Two? I thought I'd never talk to anyone again! Hey, what's your name? I'm Miyako!" She looked at him expectantly.

"Daisuke," Daisuke whispered. "Look, I need to go to school now, so-"

"School!" Miyako exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "I can't believe I even miss school, but there it is! Hey, you're in the same school as me, right? Or the same school I went to, anyway."

"Hmm?" Daisuke started walking off casually, trying not to look at her too obviously, and Miyako followed, floating.

"I've seen you on the soccer field. You're the one who's always wearing those goggles! I bet you're trying to be just like Taichi-senpai, right? Well, who can blame you, he's pretty cool!"

"Uh-huh." Daisuke agreed quietly. "So you're coming to school with me?"

"Of course! You're the first person I've seen who can see an hear me! I'm not letting you out of my sights! It's almost like being alive again!"

Miyako paused, for a moment. Her expression looked older than she'd ever be.

Daisuke stayed silent. He didn't know what it felt like, but he understood.

He continued walking to school, then quickened his steps as he realized he'd stopped for a while and might be late.

He glanced behind him to make sure Miyako was still following him. The bad thing about ghosts - well, one of the bad things, anyway - was they didn't make any sound when they moved. But yes, Miyako was floating along, arms crossed and seemingly deep in thought.

"If I'd known I was gonna die soon," Miyako said quietly, "I would've done a lot of things I wanted to."

Another bad - or not necessarily bad, just kinda creepy -thing about ghosts was their voice carried really well. Even though Miyako was almost two meters away and talking under her breath - or lack of breath - Daisuke could still hear her voice clearly. From Daisuke's experience, it seemed like if a ghost was talking to you, you heard it, unless they were really far away. And even then, with enough determination, they could speak to you if they really wanted. Ghosts were weird like that. There was probably a logical explanation, but Daisuke wasn't the type to think about ghost science or anything like that. Anyway, it only worked with people like Daisuke who could see ghosts. If someone had no paranormal sensitivity, no ghost could contact them.

Daisuke had met... had known, no... had been friends with ghosts before. He wasn't at all surprised that Miyako had something she wanted to do. All ghosts did. He'd helped a few of them get closure. And then they'd passed on.

"What do you want to do?" Daisuke asked quietly.

"So much! I wanna eat a bunch of cake!" Miyako shouted. "And ice cream! And I was gonna go over to Iori's place and fix his computer the day I died! AND!" She floated before Daisuke, pointing at the sky determinedly. "Most of all! I wanna confess to everybody I had a crush on!"

"Huh... Alright. I'll try and help you do that," Daisuke said quietly.

"Huh? Really?!" Miyako asked, her eyes sparkling. "Thank you so much, Daisuke! You're actually a pretty good guy, aren't you?"

"Of course I am," Daisuke said, not realizing how loud he'd said it until he caught someone glancing at him. He looked at the ground and started running out of embarrassment. Miyako, naturally, followed.

"You can't talk to me while I'm in class, okay?" Daisuke hissed.

"Okay!" Miyako said brightly.

\-----

Daisuke did end up making it with time to left.

"Fifth grade, huh?" Miyako noted as she glanced around the classroom. Daisuke nodded as he hung his bag to his seat.

"Hikari-chan! Good morning!" he said as he noticed the girl. Hikari turned to look at him and smiled, and Daisuke's heart jumped a bit. He heard Miyako gasp, but gave that no thought, since Hikari was right there and so cute.

"Good morning, Daisuke-kun," Hikari said, then turned away again to sit down.

"Whoa! Yagami Hikari's in your class?" Miyako said with barely contained excitement, clasping her hands together. "Oh my gosh! Hey, Daisuke, listen!"

Daisuke looked at her, indicating that he was listening.

"Hey, you promised to help me do what I wanted before I died, you know? Like, you know, confessing to people I like?" Miyako said, leaning closer to Daisuke, so excited she couldn't stay still, floating left to right in a fidgety way.

Daisuke nodded surreptitiously. Of course he was going to help her.

"So, like, I just got an idea! Can I try doing a thing?" Miyako asked.

Daisuke nodded again, wondering what this was leading to.

"Okay, here goes!" Miyako leaned closer, and Daisuke leaned back on reflex. She passed through him, bringing with her a sudden icy cold feeling, the kind you only get from having a ghost pass through you. Daisuke shivered.

Suddenly, he felt like a strong wind, the kind that's strong enough to break umbrellas, pushed him backwards, and he stumbled, closing his eyes and trying to hold on to something, but couldn't reach a thing. 

He opened his eyes, and found himself staring at his own face.

Daisuke blinked.

The other him looked at him, and at his own hand, moving his fingers, then grinned.

"Wha-!" Daisuke stumbled again, trying to get a foothold, and realized he was touching nothing.

He was floating.

He gasped, sharply, and it felt really weird. He wasn't taking in any air.

"What..." Daisuke looked at the other him, who stood up from his seat and smiled at him. 

"...Miyako?" Daisuke asked, uncertainly.

Miyako, possessing his body, nodded with a smile.

What? Was that possible? Why was it possible?!

Miyako begun to walk, and Daisuke started panicking.

"Hold on! What are you doing?!" Daisuke asked, but Miyako ignored him.

Daisuke's thoughts raced like hell during those like 2 seconds it took for Miyako to walk over. What was she doing? Wait, based on what she was saying, was she going to confess to somebody? Was she seriously going to confess to some guy while in his body?!

Then Miyako stopped in front of Hikari's table and faced her, and the only thing that could've been worse than that was if she'd picked Takeru instead.

"Hikari-chan!" Miyako said, and Daisuke, for a moment, was distracted by how weird her, or rather, his own voice sounded like.

"What?" Hikari asked with a smile.

"The truth is, I like you!" Miyako announced.

Daisuke's world seemed to freeze for a moment. 

Hikari's smile fell into a slight, awkward confusion, and Daisuke's heart fell into his stomach.

Her eyebrows arched for a bit, then rose, just slightly.

"I..." Hikari started, awkwardly. "I know?"

Miyako's face, which had remained in determined smile, fell just a bit.

"I'm sorry," Hikari said, with a gentle, apologetic smile. "I just..."

"Oh- That's fine," Miyako hurried to say. "You don't have to-"

Miyako looked at Daisuke and froze, her eyes widening. Daisuke wondered if he looked as numb as he felt.

"I... I'm sorry," Miyako said, looking at Daisuke, then rushed past him, and out of the classroom.

"Daisuke!" Hikari called out after her.

Daisuke turned away from her and floated after Miyako.

He found her sitting on the stairs, looking down. She looked up as Daisuke entered her field of vision.

"I... I'm so sorry, Daisuke," she said. "Uh, here, try possessing me, or, uh, yourself again?"

Miyako closed her eyes and spread her arms, waiting.

Daisuke paused, debating for a bit, and then decided to just try and go for it, diving into his body.

It felt kind of like being sucked inside something, but fitting inside it perfectly and snugly. Warmth and feeling returned to him, but that hollow feeling Hikari's words had brought only increased.

Daisuke opened his eyes.

Miyako was in front of him, brows furrowed in worry.

"Um... You like Hikari, too?" she asked, awkward.

Daisuke nodded, drawing his knees closer to himself and hugging them.

"I'm so sorry," Miyako said, her entire being lowering downwards. "I didn't think about you at all, I was just so excited she was there and I had a chance to tell her... I ruined everything."

"No... She would've said the same thing to me, anyway," Daisuke mumbled.

"I should've asked for your permission properly, though!" Miyako insisted. "And you could've been the one to ask her, yourself! Instead, I just..." Miyako made a frustrated noise and motioned with her arms, then lowered them, sighing.

"It's okay," Daisuke mumbled. "It might be better this way. Now I know how she feels." He leaned back, setting his hands down. "And I can, you know... start moving on?"

Miyako floated to sit next to him.

"It's not okay," she said. "You're upset, aren't you?"

"I'll be fine," Daisuke said.

"Daisuke?"

Daisuke's head snapped to the direction of the voice. Hikari was standing there, looking worried.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting something," she said. "I wanted to come check up on you."

"Oh... Don't worry about it. I'm fine," Daisuke said, trying for a grin.

Hikari opened her mouth, but the school bell chose that moment to ring.

"Oh crap!" Daisuke stood up. "We can still make it if we hurry!"

"No, it's okay," Hikari said, holding a hand up to stop Daisuke from rushing off. "Takeru's going to tell the teacher you felt sick so I went to help you to the nurse's office."

"Oh." Daisuke paused. "Why?"

"Because I told him to?"

"No, but... Why?"

"Because I thought you'd need some time," Hikari said. "You're not really okay, right? I can tell."

"I... yeah." Daisuke sat down again. "I guess not. Sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. I mean... You can't help how you feel, right?" Hikari sat down next to Daisuke, and Miyako floated out of her way.

Daisuke glanced at Miyako. She floated above Daisuke and Hikari, watching them. The expression on her face was unreadable.

She felt the same way about Hikari as he did, huh? At least he wasn't alone in being rejected. That made him feel a little better.

"Um... Was it really that obvious?" Daisuke asked Hikari. "That I like you, I mean."

"Yeah. You're always kinda obvious about how you're feeling, you know? But that's not a bad thing," Hikari said. 

"Aw man... Now I'm kinda embarrassed. I can't believe you knew all along... Maybe I should've confessed before," Daisuke said, rubbing the back of his neck. "But if you knew, why didn't you tell me? No, wait, as soon as I said that I realized why."

"Yeah... That would've been pretty awkward, right? I thought it'd be better to let you tell me when you were ready." Hikari stretched her arms out over her knees, linking her fingers. "But... I would've kinda... preferred if you didn't do it in front of everybody."

"Oh. Oh, crap, there was a crowd, wasn't there?" Daisuke hadn't even realized it until now. He'd been so focused on Miyako and Hikari that anyone else just hadn't registered. Had everyone stared at them? He had no idea.

He looked up at Miyako, who had her hands over her mouth, eyes wide.

"Oh my gosh," she said. "I'm so sorry, I didn't think about that..."

Had she not realized it either?

"Um, I'm sorry, Hikari-chan," Daisuke said, rubbing the back of his head. "I wasn't thinking about that... I just kinda tuned everyone else out at that moment."

"It's okay," Hikari said. "But I do want to know... why did you pick that moment?"

"That was..." Daisuke stared at Miyako, who looked apologetic. He racked his brain for an excuse and thought of Miyako's words earlier. "Because... I had the chance? No, um, I mean, because it felt like... that was the time... that I could do it? You know?" 

He didn't know, but he hoped it'd make some sense, as he looked at Hikari.

"You mean at that moment, you got the nerve to confess and you wanted to do it before you lost it?" Hikari asked.

"Right! That! Yeah, that's it."

"All right. I guess I can understand that. Um, say..." Hikari said, a bit awkwardly, "It's not going to get weird between us from now on, right? We can still be friends?"

"Yeah, of course," Daisuke said, smiling. "It might take me a bit to get over it, but you're my best friend, and I don't want to lose that, either."

Hikari responded to his smile with her own. "Thank you, Daisuke. That means a lot to me." She stood up, reaching her hand towards Daisuke. "But hey, we should go to the nurse's office now, since that's where the teacher thinks we are."

"Oh, yeah." Daisuke grabbed Hikari's hand, and she helped him up.

The two headed towards the nurse's office, with Miyako following along.

"Uh, hey, by the way," Daisuke said, remembering something. "Can I ask... what's the relationship between you and Takeru, anyway? Like, do you like him?"

"He's my friend," Hikari stated. "If he confessed to me, I'd tell him "sorry" too. Although," she laughed, "I kinda don't think he would."

"You sure?" Daisuke said, dubious.

"That he wouldn't? Yes. I'd like to think I'm good at reading people's feelings towards me."

"Well, you got me right, at least," Daisuke said with a slight laugh. He glanced at Miyako, then back to Hikari and said, "Hey, so, if somebody else liked you, would you be able to tell?"

"Hm? Well, if it's somebody I spend time with, probably," Hikari said, holding a finger against her jaw. "But if it's somebody else... Well, I kinda doubt somebody I barely know would like me that much, anyway."

Daisuke saw Miyako stop suddenly at the corner of his eye, and turned around to look at her. She was looking down, holding her skirt tightly in her fists.

"Daisuke?" Hikari asked, and Daisuke realized he'd suddenly stopped at random as far as she was concerned.

"Um, maybe you should go back to class before the teacher starts wondering how long you're taking?" Daisuke suggested, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Are you okay?" Hikari asked.

"I'm fine. I can go to the nurse's office on my own. You can go back. And... thanks for worrying about me," Daisuke said.

Hikari glanced at the direction Miyako was in, not that she could see her, but nodded at Daisuke. "All right. Take care."

She walked off back towards their classroom, waving at Daisuke as she went.

Daisuke waved back.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Daisuke walked up to Miyako.

"I'm sorry," Miyako said. "I had no right to do that! She was right, I barely even knew her, I just saw her every once in a while, we only talked like three times, my feelings towards her were nothing compared to yours!" Her voice raised to shouting as she spoke.

"Miyako," Daisuke whispered. "Don't say that. It was important enough that you came back from the dead to do it, right? I think that makes your feelings important."

"But you're best friends," Miyako sniffed. "The way you were talking, I could tell you'd known each other forever. I could've ruined that."

"You didn't, though! Hikari's my best friend, and that's not going to change! I won't let it, and neither will Hikari!" Daisuke hoped that was true with all his heart. "Anyway, don't compare your feelings to mine. We both like her, and we both got rejected, so we're equal, right? We should be, um... something. Just stop blaming yourself, okay?"

"But it is my fault!"

"Yeah, I know, but hey, at least neither of us had to face that alone? Come on, let's at least go to the nurse's office, we can get some rest. Or, uh, I can get rest and you can calm down or something. Ghosts can't sleep or anything, as far as I know."

Miyako wiped her eyes. (Ghosts could still cry ghostly tears, apparently. They weren't wet, and they disappeared quickly. They worked through willpower or something like that. A ghost that felt like crying and remembered how to cry would cry. Ghosts could also gasp and sigh and so on in the same way. It was a human instinct thing, Daisuke assumed.)

"Why aren't you angry at me?" Miyako asked quietly. "I possessed you and used your body to confess to her in front of everybody. Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Well, you're dead," Daisuke said.

Miyako stared at him.

"Uh, tha-that came out... more blunt than I meant to say it," Daisuke stammered. "I mean, you have it worse than me, right? Since you're dead. And... because you're a girl and Hikari's a girl, it would've been harder for you to confess when you were alive than me, right? So I can't be too angry with you. The part where you possessed me without asking, that I am kinda pissed off about, but hey, I can get mad about that later. That's less important now."

Miyako continued staring at him.

"You're... way too kind," she said, just before the silence got awkward.

"Nah, I'm just used to dealing with ghosts," Daisuke said, waving a hand dismissively. "I'm always like, "well, at least I'm not dead, so things could be worse.""

"Yeah? Well, I think that makes you kind," Miyako said. "Oh, right, we were supposed to go to the nurse's office, right?"

"Right! Let's go," Daisuke said.

And finally, they did go to the nurse's office. The nurse was out, but Daisuke made his way in and went to rest. Miyako floated around, checking out all the things in the office she'd never dared to go near when she was alive. Eventually, she got bored of that and came to float near Daisuke's bed in a lying down position, hands behind her head.

"So, hey..." Miyako said. "You and Hikari have been friends for a while, huh?"

"Yeah... Since first grade," Daisuke said. "She was always the only one who didn't think I was weird for... talking to "myself"..."

"You mean ghosts?" Miyako asked, turning to face Daisuke.

"Yeah. I've seen them since I was a kid. There aren't that many around, actually... I've met, like... Hm. twenty, twenty-five? About that many. I mean, when I was really young I didn't understand the difference between living people and ghosts that well, so I might've seen more... Anyway, a few of them stuck with me long enough that I became friends with them."

"What happened to them?" Miyako asked.

"They passed on. Usually took like... a few months. A year at most. I tried to help them do what they wanted before dying, or at least get peace with it..." Daisuke trailed off, blinking rapidly.

"Do you miss them?" Miyako asked.

"Of course I miss them," Daisuke said. "I mean, they're my friends, and I'm never going to see them again." His lower lip started trembling, and he kept blinking, trying to keep the tears back.

"It's okay to cry," Miyako said, placing an intangible hand on Daisuke's shoulder. "I mean, nobody can see you but me, and who would I tell?"

"Yeah..." Daisuke said through a shaky intake of breath, turned to his side away from Miyako, and let the tears flow.

Miyako sat on the bed next to him and waited, wishing she could offer comfort.

\-----

Eventually, the nurse returned and found Daisuke. He'd managed to stop crying by then, but was pretty sure the nurse could see he'd been crying. She told him he could stay however long he needed, and that he could talk to her about anything. Daisuke thanked her for the offer, but the only thing he talked to her about was his headache. The nurse brought him a glass of water and medicine.

Miyako chatted about things every once in a while, but Daisuke only rarely answered her, quietly so the nurse couldn't hear him.

Despite drinking the water and taking the pill, his headache didn't ease much, so he eventually buried his head under the blanket to block the lights.

He didn't realize he'd fallen asleep until the school bell woke him up.

"What time is it?" he asked sleepily, pushing the blanket aside.

"It's lunch break," Miyako said.

"Mph," Daisuke answered. That explained why he was hungry.

But right now, he'd rather avoid going back to the classroom as long as he could. He didn't want to know how everybody was going to look at him when he returned, but he could imagine it.

So he stayed in bed, trying to ignore his stomach.

A minute later, he heard somebody come in.

"Is Motomiya here?" a voice said, and it was Takeru, why was it Takeru of all people?

The nurse directed Takeru to Daisuke's bed, and Daisuke buried himself under the blanket. He listened to Takeru walk over and push the screen aside.

"Motomiya? Are you asleep?" he asked.

Daisuke stayed silent and still.

Takeru waited for a moment, then placed something on the table.

"All right, you're asleep. I'll leave your lunch and bag here, anyway. Hope you'll feel better soon," he said. Some shuffling sounds later, Daisuke heard Takeru place his backbag on the floor.

Daisuke listened to him walk out again. He waited for a while to make sure he was really gone.

"He's really gone, you know," Miyako said.

Daisuke pushed the blanket out of the way and stared at Miyako.

"What? I knew because that was obviously what you were waiting for."

Daisuke grumbled wordlessly and reached for his bag. He took out a notepad.

"What's that for?" Miyako asked.

Daisuke wrote in the notepad and left it open on the bed next to him, while he sat on the side of the bed and turned the lunch tray Takeru had left to face him.

"Talking to you, because the nurse's in the room," Miyako read out loud from the notepad. "Oh! Good thinking! But are you gonna be able to write while you're eating?"

Daisuke grabbed the pen with his left hand (his right was holding chopsticks) and wrote a shaky "no" on the pad.

"Yeah, thought so." Miyako stayed quiet for a while. "Why didn't you want to see Takeru, anyway?"

Daisuke stared at her flatly, his mouth full of food.

"Ah, right, right, no replies until after eating," Miyako said with an apologetic laugh.

She sat there on the air for a bit.

"You know, watching you eat is kinda awkward. I'm gonna go outside for a bit," she said, and disappeared through the wall.

Huh. All right then, Daisuke thought and kept eating.

Miyako wasn't back by the time he was done, so he laid back down, taking his notebook and pencil. After a bit of thinking, he started writing.

"I'm back!" Miyako announced cheerfully, startling Daisuke as she phased through the wall.

Daisuke scribbled something down quickly and held the notebook open to her. Miyako floated down to look at it.

""Welcome back" Oh, thanks! "About why I didn't want to see Takeru: I don't like him,"" Miyako read out loud. "Why not?"

Daisuke took the notebook back, wrote something, and showed it to Miyako again.

""I just dont!" with three exclamation marks. Oh, I get it. You're jealous!" Miyako said deviously.

Daisuke wrote again.

""No way! And you don't have to read everything out loud." Are you embarrassed?" Miyako said.

"I'm not embarrassed!" Daisuke wrote. "Takeru just pisses me off! He never takes me seriously and just brushes off anything I tell him! And I don't like how he's always hanging out with Hikari! I've been her best friend since we were kids and then this guy I've never seen appears and acts like they're best friends from long ago and he refuses to tell me how they met, the heck's that about?! And he's so handsome it pisses me off, with his blue eyes and pale skin and blonde hair!!"

"Do you like him or something?" Miyako asked after reading the rant.

"What?!" Daisuke said out loud, then slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Is something wrong?" the nurse called out to him.

"No, nothing! Sorry!" Daisuke answered her, scribbling down a reply to Miyako.

"OF COURSE NOT!!!" he wrote. "Just because I think a guy's handsome doesn't mean I like him! You don't have a crush on everybody you think is cute, either, right?"

Miyako fell silent, looking like she was pondering this seriously. Daisuke underlined the word "right?" twice and added an exclamation mark.

"No, you're right," Miyako said, finally. "Takeru's pretty good-looking, but it's not like I have any feelings towards him. Speaking of which, Takeru lives in the same apartment as me! Or, as I did, I guess."

"He does?" Daisuke wrote.

"Yeah... he moved in right before I died, so it's not like I knew him, though."

Oh, that's right... the announcement that a student in their school had died was the day after school started and Takeru had transferred to their class. Daisuke hadn't remembered the name, but it must've been Miyako, then. He just remembered thinking what an awful time to die the first day of school was.

"That's rough," he wrote after a pause, because he didn't really know what else to say to that.

"Nah, it's all right," Miyako said. "It's not like getting to know him was that important. If I'd gotten to know him, he'd just be... another person who'd miss me."

Miyako's smile became pained.

"Do you want to talk about that? Or something else," Daisuke wrote after a pause.

"...Maybe not," Miyako said. "I mean, it's kinda awkward when you have to write all your answers, right? Hey, by the way, are you going to stay in the nurse's office all day?"

"Yes. So what?" Daisuke wrote, glaring at her defensively.

"That's not what I meant. I was thinking I'd go out and explore the school while you're here! You know, peep on all the classes, see what the teachers get up to when students aren't around, maybe see what the boys' bathroom looks like from the inside... We'll meet up back here once the day's over, okay?" Miyako said.

"OK," Daisuke wrote.

"Great! Wait for me here, then! Bye!" Miyako waved, and then swooped out through the ceiling.

Daisuke put his notebook and pencil back in his backbag and laid down, getting comfortable. He tried to sleep, but ended up just staring at the ceiling, thinking.

About Miyako. About all the ghosts he'd known. About Hikari. About Takeru. About all the things about them he didn't know. About how he should face the class next monday. About the soccer game.

That's right, sunday's game! He'd almost forgotten with all the excitement of the day, but the day after tomorrow, they were going to have a match against Tamachi Elementary! Against Ken Ichijouji, the child genius! He couldn't wait for it! Why wasn't it sunday already? He decided to try and get some sleep so the day would go by sooner. But no, sleep still wouldn't come.

Maybe he should go back to class? What time was it, anyway? If only he wore a watch or something... Hikari had some device she carried in her pocket that she could check the time on whenever. That'd be convenient, but Daisuke had never figured out shere she got it from. She'd always evade the question when he asked. Maybe she couldn't remember. Too bad, it looked pretty cool.

Anyway, Daisuke had no idea what time it was. If only there was some way to...

He paused.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"One thirty," the nurse answered.

"Thanks," Daisuke said.

He felt a bit stupid.

At least the school day was almost over. He could wait that long.

\-----

Finally, the bell rung and the day was over. Daisuke got his bag, thanked the nurse and left the room, waiting outside. Miyako appeared in front of him soundlessly from the side.

"Hey! Time to go home, huh?" she said, looking cheerful.

Daisuke nodded, and they headed down the hall.

"Can't wait to see your place! Hey, do you have your own room?" she asked.

Daisuke nodded.

"Great! That means we can talk properly!" Miyako did a barrel roll in the air and flew through the wall and back. "Oh hey, Hikari and Takeru were in there."

"Wh-" Daisuke shut his mouth before he got the word out, but stopped and looked at the wall, then searched for the nearest door.

"That's the door there, I think," Miyako said, pointing at it.

Daisuke walked to the door, took a deep breath, tried to be casual, and opened the door.

Hikari and Takeru looked at him.

"Hey. You guys are still here?" he asked, stepping inside, looking around. "School's over, you know."

"Daisuke! Are you feeling better?" Hikari asked, stepping closer to him.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Sorry about the whole thing," Daisuke said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Um, anyway, what are you doing here?"

"Um, we have some stuff to do here. We're waiting for Taichi now," Hikari said.

"Taichi's coming too?" Daisuke asked, excited.

"Yeah... Hey, that reminds me, isn't your big game this weekend?"

"Yeah, this sunday! Against Tamachi Elementary! And Ken Ichijouji!" Daisuke said, puffing up.

Miyako gasped behind him. "Ken Ichijouji!"

"Ken Ichijouji? You mean that famous child genius?" Takeru asked. "He's on their soccer team?"

"Yep! Daisuke's going to play against him," Hikari told him proudly.

"Yeah! You should come watch!" Daisuke said, excited.

"I'd love to! Takeru, what do you say?" Hikari asked, turning to her friend.

"Hmm... Should I? What do you think, Daisuke?" Takeru said, crossing his arms.

"You don't really need to come," Daisuke said dismissively.

"Come on, you two," Hikari said, in a voice that implied "Do not start a fight over this, please."

"It's fine," Takeru said. "I'm not actually planning on coming. You and Taichi are both going?"

"We are," Hikari replied.

"Then somebody's got to hold down the fort," Takeru said, giving Hikari a look.

Hikari nodded and turned back to Daisuke. "It's just me and Taichi, then."

"Yeah, that's better!" Daisuke said. "So, uh, what were you doing here, again?"

"Oh, you know. Stuff," Takeru said. "Shouldn't you be off to practice or something?"

"No, the team's taking today off to have energy for the match," Daisuke said.

"Oh! I just remembered!" Hikari said, opening her bag. "I've got today's printouts for you."

Daisuke took the papers and put them in his bag as Hikari talked about what they'd gone over in class today.

"Well, see you tomorrow, then," Hikari said with a smile.

"Right. See you," Daisuke said, a bit confused. He turned and left with a final wave. Hikari waved back.

Once outside, he looked at Miyako, who'd been flailing around for a while now.

"Did you say Ken Ichijouji?" she asked. Her hands were fisted, her elbows shaking. "I can't believe it! You're going to meet Ken Ichijouji!"

Daisuke nodded, looking around. Nobody was around, so he started walking and said, quietly: "Yeah, I'm gonna meet him. Cool, huh?"

"Yeah! Oh boy, oh man, I can't wait..." Miyako blushed. "Um, this might be a weird request, but... I've totally got a crush on him, so... If you don't want to, that's okay, but-"

"You want to confess?" Daisuke whispered.

"Yes! If it's okay with you! I mean, it's probably the only chance I'd get to meet him... I thought for sure I wouldn't have the chance, but- I mean, is it okay?"

"It's fine," Daisuke whispered. "I promised, didn't I?"

"Yess! Bingo!" Miyako cheered. "Ah, but- Don't think I'm heartless or anything, going after somebody else after just confessing to Hikari this morning, it's not like I've forgotten about her, I'm just-"

"It's fine," Daisuke whispered. "We both need to move on."

"Right," Miyako said. "Speaking of which, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Daisuke whispered. "I can talk to her normally, like it never happened, and she can act normally, too. It's working out. We're still friends, and nothing's changed, except that I can... move on."

Daisuke crossed his arms behind his head.

"Maybe I should try and fall for someone else, too," he whispered.

"And I'll help! I mean, if I can," Miyako said.

They got to a crowded street, and Miyako stayed silent as Daisuke walked through the city.

Except once.

"That was my home," she said, pointing at a corner store.

Daisuke looked at it, waiting for the light to change.

"My parents own the shop. My siblings and I help out every once in a while."

She let her arm fall, eyes locked on the shop.

"...Helped. I guess."

The light turned green.

She followed Daisuke, glancing back occasionally.

"...We don't need to go visit. I spent most of last two weeks in there, anyway," Miyako said.

Daisuke nodded.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: suicide mention, implied homophobia and... Ken being Kaiser I guess? I don't know how else to put that. Emotional manipulation, maybe?

"Wow, you have your own TV!" were the first words Miyako said after scanning Daisuke's room.

"It's nothing amazing, just our old TV that I got after we got a new one," Daisuke said, set his bag down and flopped down on the bed.

"It's still cool. So, uh, I can really just hang out at your place? You sure about that? I'm not intruding or anything?" she asked, looking around, clearly wanting to snoop around the room but restraining herself for politeness' sake.

"Yeah, it's fine. I'm used to having ghost roommates. Just make yourself at home," Daisuke said, sitting up to look at her properly.

"Well, if you say so! So hey, couldn't help but notice you've got a big sister! What's her name?" Miyako asked, sitting cross-legged in the air by Daisuke's bed.

"It's Jun. She's annoying," Daisuke said.

"Yeah, I know that feeling," Miyako said, nodding sagely.

"You've got an annoying sibling too?" Daisuke asked.

"Yeah, three of them. Momoe, Chizuru and Mantarou. Well, I mean, it's not like they're always annoying..." Miyako trailed off, her smile fading a bit.

"You want to talk about them, or should I change the subject?" Daisuke asked.

"Oh- I'm not gonna get all sad or anything! Just... I mean... I'd... at some point, I'd like to... figure out some way to cheer them up. They've been down recently, obviously." Miyako looked down, then shook her head. "But anyway! That's for later! For now, what do we do when we- I mean, you meet Ken Ichijouji?"

"Uh, you possess me after the game and tell him how you feel?" Daisuke said.

"Is that okay? I mean... it's not weird getting possessed like that?" Miyako asked.

"Of course it is. But you want to tell him yourself, right? I think this is the only way you could do that, now," Daisuke said. "Just... don't do it in front of people, if that's possible? Ask him to go somewhere where you can talk alone, and then tell him."

"Okay!" Miyako said, excited. "Oh, I can't wait! Can't it be sunday already?"

\-----

Sunday, game time.

Miyako had bounced excitedly the whole way there. She had never stopped.

Daisuke did his stretches.

Miyako was flying circles around the field.

Taichi and Hikari were in the spectators' seats, as promised.

The stage - or rather, soccer field - was set for the fateful meeting.

Finally, the bus showed up.

"He's here!" Miyako screamed, flying to the bus.

Daisuke thought she fit right in with the other girls who were screaming for Ken. It was like she was alive again. Except, you know, the floating.

One after another, the members of Tamachi Boys FC stepped out of the bus, and it felt like everyone present was waiting for Ken to appear.

But the doors closed, and the cheering of the girls gathered by the bus turned into confused murmurs. Miyako flew after the final Tamachi boy, scanning the team in confusion, then turned to Daisuke.

"He's not here! What the heck?" she shouted.

Daisuke walked up to the closest members of Tamachi, and Miyako floated to his side.

"Hey, is Ichijouji not coming?" he asked.

"Who knows?" one of the boys said. "He knows the game's today, but whether he'll arrive or not..." He shrugged.

"Can't help it, he's a busy person," another boy said with a slight sarcastic tone.

"Oh, I see... Okay," Daisuke said.

"Whaat?" Miyako said, annoyed. "He might not even show up? That sucks!"

"Daisuke!" Taichi shouted from behind him, signaling him to come over. Daisuke ran over to him.

"What's up?" Daisuke asked.

"Don't let your guard down just because Ichijouji's not here. They're still the champs," Taichi advised him.

"Right!" Daisuke nodded.

Miyako was grumbling to herself. "Who does he think he is? Seriously, I came back from the death and young master Ichijouji can't even board one bus? Who does he think I am? Well, nobody, since he doesn't know I exist, but I think I deserve better than this."

Daisuke nodded silently.

"Right? Anyway, you'd better beat these guys! Make Ichijouji regret he didn't show up! That'll show him!!" Miyako said, raising her fists.

Daisuke raised a fist in return, and walked out onto the field.

"Good luck, Daisuke!" Hikari shouted.

"Same!" Miyako added before flying to the seats and sitting down near Taichi and Hikari.

"Thanks!" Daisuke shouted, waving to them.

Then he turned to face his opponents, concentating. He was going to win this.

The game was on.

\-----

The whistle blew, signaling the end of the first half. Daisuke high-fived his closest teammate. The first half was theirs!

"Way to go!" Miyako shouted. She'd been cheering loudly for Daisuke all game, probably louder than she would've if people could hear her. Daisuke waved at her as he ran to the seats, pretending to wave at Hikari next to her.

As Daisuke took his sports bottle out for a drink, Taichi and Hikari, followed by Miyako, came down from the audience.

"Nice job, Daisuke!" Taichi said.

"Thanks," Daisuke said, taking another swig. Hikari came up to him, fiddling with her camera.

"Check out how well this one turned out!" Hikari said, showing him the screen. It was a picture of Daisuke making the first goal of the game.

"Wow, you captured that perfectly!" Daisuke said.

"Right? She's great! I knew she did photography, but I didn't know she was that good!" Miyako said.

"Daisuke, about the second half... Don't go on the defensive just because you're leading by one point. They'd definitely notice and take advantage of that," Taichi advised.

"Don't worry, I won't. Just watch me! I'll pull off a hat trick!" Daisuke boasted.

But just then, high-pitched screaming attracted their attention. Daisuke saw a taxi drive off, having dropped one person off there. And who else would it be but him!

"Ken! Ken Ichijouji's here!" Miyako shouted pointing at him. "Finally! Sure took your sweet time, huh? Well, I'll forgive you! Because you're cute!"

Ken walked down the stairs leading to the field, ignoring the encouragement from his fangirls.

"Eek, I can't believe it's really him! Ken Ichijouji! Look this way! You can't hear me, but you're super cute! I like you! Go out with me! I'll tell you that later!" Miyako shouted at him.

Ken glanced around as he walked, and suddenly stopped as he looked towards them.

"He's looking this way! What if he can see me? Eek! That'd be so cool! Haha, but that'd never happen," Miyako said, waving her hand dismissively, as she floated upwards. Ken turned away and kept walking. "See? I wonder what he was looking at, anyway."

Daisuke wondered that too. Was he looking at Taichi, or Hikari, or maybe even Daisuke himself? Or just something near them. Well, didn't matter. The second half was going to be more intense than the first.

He put his bottle down and walked onto the field.

Ken walked up too, and they faced each other on the field. Looking at him up close like this, Daisuke could totally see what Miyako saw in him. He was pretty cute.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Daisuke Motomiya," Daisuke said.

Ken stared at him, then glanced at the audience just as Daisuke heard Hikari cheer him on. Was Ken looking at her? No, don't think about irrelevant things right now, Daisuke told himself. Concentrate on the game. Concentrate on Ken.

Ken turned to face Daisuke again, and smiled. (Really cute.)

"Nice to meet you, too."

The second half started, and Ken was behind him.

\-----

The game ended on a 9-1 win for Tamachi.

Ken Ichijouji... had total control of the field. The only thing Daisuke had managed was to stop his tenth goal with his signature slide.

But he'd scratched him. He had to apologize. Besides... that was a good excuse to talk to him.

Daisuke glanced at Miyako, who nodded and flew to him. He walked up to Ken and his team.

"Um, Ichijouji!" he said.

Ken turned to look at him.

"Are you okay? Sorry about your leg..." Daisuke said, scratching the back of his head and looking at the wound he'd caused.

Ken followed his eyes, then looked up.

"Ah, it's no big deal," he said with a smile. (Seriously cute. Wait, don't get distracted.)

"Oh, good!" Daisuke said, relieved. "Say, uh... Can I talk to you for a minute? Like, alone? Doesn't have to be now, maybe after everyone's gone... If you're not too busy..."

Ken seemed a bit surprised. He glanced at something behind Daisuke, then looked at him again with a smile.

"Now is fine. We could go to the other side of the field, or by the goal," Ken said, gesturing at them.

"Really? All right! Then, the other side of the field!" Daisuke said.

Ken took the lead, and the two walked to the empty audience seats on the other side of the field, with Miyako following. Daisuke glanced at her.

"It's happening! I'm ready! Should I possess you now?" Miyako asked.

Daisuke nodded slightly. Better do it when Ken's back is to them.

"Alright! Here I go!" Miyako said, and dove in.

Cold chill, a strong wind, and Daisuke was pushed out of his body. Miyako stumbled a bit, but regained her balance and kept walking after Ken.

Daisuke watched them from the outside, hoping everything would go well.

Ken stopped and turned to face Miyako-in-Daisuke's-body, who stopped as well.

"Here we are. What did you want to talk about?" Ken asked.

Miyako took a deep breath.

"Well... Ken- I mean- Ichijouji!" she stumbled over her words, then cleared her throat, trying to calm down.

"Go for it!" Daisuke whispered.

"Ahem! Ichijouji!" Miyako said, grabbing his hand with both hands and pulling it to her.

Ken looked surprised, almost disgusted, but then smiled, slightly confused.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I like you! Please go out with me!" Miyako said.

Ken's eyes widened. 

"...Or that's what I want to say, but there's no chance, right?" Miyako said, releasing Ken's hand. Ken drew it back quickly. "I just wanted to get that off my chest. Thanks for letting me!" 

Miyako smiled, a bit sadly. She turned to leave. 

"You can just forget about that, okay? Well... see y-"

"Wait."

Miyako turned back, surprised.

Ken smiled.

"At least give me a chance to answer."

Miyako blinked twice.

Daisuke gasped, breathless.

"Ehh?!"

"I can't really say I "like" you, since we just met, but... I'd like to get to know you better," Ken said. "Could we exchange phone numbers?"

"Eh?! What? Really?! Yes! Of course!!" Miyako flailed her hands - that is, Daisuke's hands, and it looked weird - excitedly. "Hold on, I have to write it down... Uhh, do I have paper or a pen in my bag? I hope I do..."

"You can just tell me. I'll remember it," Ken said.

"Wow! Just like a genius!" Miyako said. "Uhh, hold on, let me calm down a bit, I never thought you'd say yes so I'm really overwhelmed right now?? Sorry about that!!"

"I don't mind," Ken said. "I think it's cute."

"Wh-" Miyako blushed and let out a noise Daisuke was sure he'd never made. "Thank you?? Um! Hold on a bit!!"

Miyako turned away from Ken, hands on her red face, and looked at Daisuke, silently pleading. Daisuke blinked, then realized Miyako didn't know his phone number.

"Do you want me to return to my body now?" Daisuke asked.

Miyako nodded slightly.

Daisuke dove in, regaining control of his body. His face felt hot and his heart was beating faster. He touched his chest. Were these Miyako's feelings? Well, either way, he had to finish what Miyako started. He turned back to Ken.

"Uh, sorry, I'm calm now. Anyway, my phone number..."

He recited his phone number to Ken, who nodded.

"I've memorized it," Ken said.

"Whoa, cool! But you'll have to write yours down, because I can't do that," Daisuke said.

"I don't have any paper or a pen with me, though. Do you?" Ken asked.

"Er... No, I only brought my soccer stuff," Daisuke said, scratching his head.

"I'll just call you, then. To be honest, even if I did give you my number, I don't think you'd be able to contact me very often. I'm always busy, so..." Ken smiled apologetically.

"That's okay! Just call me when you can! Er, so..." Daisuke paused, glancing at Miyako, then back to Ken. "Does... this mean we're dating, or..."

"Sure," Ken said. "Although it'd be better if we didn't tell anyone. I'd hate it if you got bothered by reporters because of this. So let's keep it a secret from everyone, okay?" Ken extended his hand, tilting his head with a smile.

"Sure, that sounds good!" Daisuke said, shaking Ken's hand.

He was basically just going along with what Miyako said, but he was slowly starting to realize what, exactly, he was doing. He was going to date Ken Ichijouji? No, wait, it was Miyako who'd date him, right? She'd possess Daisuke and, go on dates with Ken Ichijouji, probably?? Daisuke felt kind of upset about that, and wasn't entirely sure why.

"Daisuke," Ken said, and Daisuke felt his heart skip a beat. He realized he was still holding Ken's hand, and let go quckly.

"Wh-what?" he asked, nervous.

"Can I call you Daisuke?" Ken asked. His voice was like silk.

"Uhh sure? I don't mind," Daisuke said, because he didn't mind, really. It was just his name. Hikari called him that, and it definitely didn't make his heart race the same way as- No, wait, what was he thinking?

"You can call me Ken, too," Ken said.

"Can I? Uh. Ken? -Ichijouji," Daisuke added. "Sorry, I... It's weird. Hold on." Miyako had managed to call him Ken to his face despite having a crush on him, so Daisuke, who didn't, should also be able to say that! "K-Ken!"

"There you go," Ken said with a smile. "Good job."

"Thanks? Uhh, I'll be... looking forward to you calling me." Wow, way to get formal suddenly. "I mean, call me anytime!"

"I will," Ken said, walking past him. "See you later, Daisuke."

"S-see you," Daisuke said, turning to watch him go.

"Wow," Miyako sighed. "I can't believe it. He said yes..."

"Me neither," Daisuke whispered, then started jogging back to Hikari and Taichi.

Ken Ichijouji said yes to him. Well, to Miyako, but since she was possessing him, that meant Ken wanted to date him. Is that okay, Miyako?

\-----

"It's fine," Miyako said.

The setting sun painted their walk home red. The street was empty.

"Really?" Daisuke asked.

"...Well, I mean... He said yes to you, not me. It'd be rude of me to butt in." She floated afead of Daisuke, her hands behind her back. "But, you know... I think I'm pretty happy with this. I mean, I confessed to a guy and he said yes! That'd be great on it's own, but it's Ken Ichijouji, the super celeb and boy genius! If I wasn't already dead, I could die happy right now!"

Daisuke watched Miyako spin around in the air happily, and felt cold.

"...But there's still something else you want to do, right?" Daisuke asked.

"Huh? Yeah," Miyako said, stopping. "But more importantly, are you okay with this?"

"With what?"

"You know... Dating Ken," Miyako said. "You kinda got roped into it because of me. Do you want to break up with him?"

"No way! I mean, I..." Daisuke blushed. "I'm not against it? He seems like a nice guy, and it'd be rude to break up right away, so... I might as well date him, see where it goes?"

Miyako gasped. "You like him," she teased.

"Wh- No! I mean, he's got a good-looking face, and a nice smile, but it's not like... Look, I'm just saying I might end up liking him!"

"You're totally crushing on him! So you like both guys and girls, too?" Miyako said cheerfully.

"W-well, yeah, I guess," Daisuke muttered, blushing.

"I'm glad! I've never met anyone other than me! You know, after I confessed to Hikari, I was totally expecting you to think I'm weird, but you never did. And all you ever said about it was that it's difficult... I was so relieved. But I guess it's because you're the same way, huh?"

"Ahh... I think I'd be on your side even if I wasn't like that. I had a friend once..." Daisuke paused, scratching his head. "About a year ago, actually."

"Had?"

"Well, he passed on."

"Oh!" Miyako clapped her hands together in realization. "He was a ghost?"

"Yeah... He liked guys, and only guys. He'd... killed himself because of that."

Daisuke hung his head.

Miyako covered her mouth with her hand.

"Just... because of that...?"

"Well- It's more than that, but... Look, it's a pretty sad, complicated story. Just take my word for it, okay? Anyway, the time I spent with him helped me... understand a lot. About people, and love, and... myself, I guess. I mean, I might've never realized that boys can like other boys like that, or that I do." Daisuke paused. "...I owe a lot to Arata. Oh, that's his name, by the way."

"Yeah, I assumed."

"...I haven't visited his grave in a while. The others, either. Maybe I should do that tomorrow. And while I'm at it, maybe we could visit your grave. I mean, you've got one, right? A family grave?" Daisuke asked, pointing at Miyako.

"Um, sure," Miyako said, glancing away. Daisuke let his hand fall, realizing maybe he shouldn't talk about that so casually.

"If you don't want to, we-"

"No, it's fine!" Miyako interrupted him quickly. "It's just, I haven't visited it since my funeral... it's kinda awkward to think about it. But we should go see it. I mean, you've gotta pay your respects to me, right?"

"Yeah, exactly. And I want to know where the grave is, so I can visit after you've passed on," Daisuke added.

"...That's kinda morbid."

"Says the ghost. Anyway, for me that's just a normal thing to do. When I meet a ghost, I know they're going to pass on eventually, so I find out where their grave is before that."

"Huh..."

They reached Daisuke's apartment building, so the conversation paused until they got on the elevator.

"Ghosts really are a part of your ordinary life, huh," Miyako said.

"Well, yeah. It's the same as people, except they can't interact with anyone but me."

"So you don't know anyone else who can see them? I mean, us. Ghosts."

"No... I bet there's somebody else out there, maybe in America or something. But they're probably keeping it a secret too." The elevator stopped, and Daisuke stepped out.

"It'd be cool if you could find them on the internet or something. Find a message board about the supernatural and post something like "Anyone else see ghosts lol?" and wait for an answer," Miyako said.

"Why "lol?"" Daisuke whispered.

"Then anyone who doesn't see ghosts will think you're kidding!"

"Won't the real ones think I'm kidding too?" Daisuke whispered before opening the door.

"Dang, that's true..." Miyako crossed her arms thoughtfully.

"I'm home!" Daisuke announced.

"Oh! He just came, hold on..." Daisuke's mother popped out from behind the corner. "Welcome back! Good timing, you have a phonecall!"

"Ehh?!" Ken immediately popped up in Daisuke's mind, but he silenced it. It could be anyone. He took off his shoes and went to take the receiver from his mother. Miyako followed curiously, leaning in closer to the receiver. She must've been thinking the same thing.

"Hello? Daisuke here," Daisuke said into the phone.

"It's me."

That smooth voice was unmistakable, even through the phone. Daisuke flushed and met Miyako's eyes. She grinned and gave him two thumbs up. Daisuke nodded.

"Ken?" he asked, just to make sure.

"Yes," Ken answered simply.

"Whoa, you called just when I was coming home! Pretty good timing!"

"I assumed you'd be home by now. I guess I was just a little bit off," Ken said.

"You got pretty close, though! I wasn't expecting you to call me this soon."

"I wanted to hear your voice again, as soon as possible," Ken said.

Miyako put a hand on her mouth in a mock gasp, then smiled and clenched her fist in a gesture that Daisuke assumed meant something like "Whoa, he's into you! Good job, keep it up!"

It didn't really help Daisuke not blush.

"Th-thanks," Daisuke said. Thanks for what? Why did he say that? Say something else! "Uhm, good game today!" Oh my god, not that.

"Thank you," Ken said. "Your slide was pretty good... I wasn't expecting you from that direction. It was the first time we missed scoring with that formation."

"Really?!" 

"Would I lie to you?"

Daisuke let out a light chuckle. "I guess not."

They ended up talking about soccer long enough for Miyako to lose interest and start looking around Daisuke's house.

"Ah," Ken said suddenly, interrupting Daisuke's story about the greatest goal he made last year. "Is it that late? Sorry I ended up talking your ear off. I have to go now. I'll call you tomorrow around nine in the evening, is that okay?"

"Sure! No problem! I'll be home," Daisuke assured him cheerfully.

"Good. See you," Ken said.

"More like hear you, am I right?"

After a small pause, Ken chuckled.

"You're right. I'll hear from you then," Ken said. "I'll hang up now. Bye."

"Bye!"

Ken hung up. Daisuke set the receiver down and exhaled.

Around nine tomorrow, huh... He couldn't wait. Daisuke walked to his room in thought. Visit the graveyard straight from school, then come home and do homework... Should be enough time.

"Daisuke!" his mom called out just as he gripped the handle to his door. "You left your bag on the floor!"

"I did?" Daisuke asked, realizing he really had put his sports bag down at some point. He went to get it.

"Who was that new friend of yours?" mom asked.

"You mean Ken? We met today at the game," Daisuke said, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"That's what he said, too. Ken, huh... It's nice that you can make friends even with the opposing team," mom said as she returned to the kitchen. "How did the game go, by the way?"

"We lost, 9-1. They were the champs, after all," Daisuke replied as he walked to his room, then closed the door before mom could answer. She didn't really care about soccer anyway, she was just asking to be polite.

"Turn on the TV!" was the first thing Miyako said as Daisuke entered.

"Sure," Daisuke said, setting his bag down. Miyako was already pointing at the remote with both hands, so Daisuke picked it up and turned the TV on.

"Which channel?" he asked.

"Just flip through them and I'll tell which one," Miyako said. "Also, how'd it go with Ken? Did you get a date?"

"Well, no, but he said he'd call again tomorrow!" Daisuke said, a grin spreading on his face as he changed the channels.

"Oh, look at you! That's the face of somebody who's fallen in love!" Miyako cooed, and Daisuke flushed bright red.

"Wha, shut up! No I havennnn...t," Daisuke trailed off, covering his mouth as he realized he'd shouted. At least mom was probably pretty used to that by now. "I mean... I'm not, like, in love or anything."

"Sure," Miyako said, grinning smugly.

"I'm not, though."

"I believe you," Miyako said, clearly lying. "Oh, this channel's fine."

In the end, Daisuke ended up doing his homework to the sounds of some romantic period drama, which he mostly managed to ignore. A few schmoopy lines he heard turned his ears red as Ken popped up in his mind, though... Why did the male lead's voice have to kinda sound like him?! That was just unfair!


	3. Chapter 3

Monday happened, regrettably.

As expected, his classmates teased the hell out of Daisuke because of the failed confession last friday. He managed to get them mostly off the subject by telling them about his game against Ken. He ended up having to promise to get three of the girls autographs if he ever met Ken again. He claimed it was unlikely, but made a mental note to ask Ken when they'd meet. I mean, they'd have to meet sometime again, right? They were dating, after all.

Dating. That was still a strange thought. He was really dating Ken, even though they'd only met once.

Why had he agreed, anyway?

"Who knows? I guess he just thinks you're cute," Miyako answered the written-down question. "Can't see why, but geniuses have eccentric tastes, don't they?"

Miyako giggled at the flat look Daisuke gave her. "Sorry, sorry!" she laughed. "You're just not really my type!"

Daisuke turned back to his books before the teacher caught him not paying attention. Ugh, what was he explaining now?

Miyako pointed at the relevant passage in Daisuke's book. He scribbled down a quick thank-you.

That's right, Miyako was a year older than him, wasn't she? She's already gone past this, so she could probably even tutor him.

\-----

Hikari had smiled to Daisuke as she'd said "See you tomorrow!" Daisuke repeated it to her automatically as he left the classroom, even as his heart skipped painfully.

Darn it. She was so cute and he was still in love.

Just think about Ken, he told himself. Think about how he smiled when he said your name. Think about the fact that he agreed to be your boyfriend. Imagine that one line from yesterday's movie being said by Ken.

Daisuke's face heated up, and anyone passing by must've seen him blush. He had to get out of the hallway, away from all the people going to their clubs and homes and wherever. He found the nearest classroom door and opened it, peeking inside. Nobody was there.

He stepped in and closed the door behind him, leaning against it and hiding his face in his hands.

"Daisuke, what's wrong?" Miyako asked, hovering over him worriedly.

"I'm fine," Daisuke said. "Just needed some space."

"You're blushing!" Miyako pointed out teasingly, but sobered with realization before continuing, "Were you... thinking about Hikari?"

"No! Well, yes, a little... But mostly about Ken!" Daisuke waved his hands defensively, then started to walk around the classroom to calm down. It was a computer classroom, he realized only now. "I just... It's a big change, you know? I don't know what to do about... all these feelings."

Miyako floated with him as he paced, listening.

"It was easier when I was just... When I just liked Hikari. But now I can't do that anymore, and I need to stop liking her and it's... It's not working."

"It's fine!" Miyako said. "You can't stop liking someone suddenly."

"But I should... I mean, I like Ken, but I still like Hikari, and I need to stop liking Hikari and like only Ken... But I like them both and it's too much, I can't-"

"Calm down and breathe," Miyako said, and Daisuke paused and breathed in, then out. "It's fine to like two people," she continued. "I mean, look at me! I like so many people! Hikari, and Ken, and Taichi-senpai, and Koushiro-senpai, and Sora-senpai, and- well, you get the point. So it's okay!"

"...Yeah, I guess you're right," Daisuke said. "I just... I've never liked anyone other than Hikari like this, and then all this happened, and... You're right. It's fine. It's okay."

"Right!" Miyako said. "So just take it easy! Maybe one day you'll notice you're madly in love with Ken and haven't thought about Hikari in months!"

Daisuke blushed. "I- That's-" he stammered, then looked away. "Shut up!"

Miyako laughed.

Daisuke begun pacing again, to try and get rid of his blush. Concentrate on something else. Soccer? No, that just made him think about Ken again. Video games? That's right, he still hadn't beaten the final boss of DQ6. He should go back and grind some levels. Didn't he have some unmastered classes he'd meant to master on some characters...?

Something moved in the corner of his eye, and he turned to look. There was nobody there. He walked over. Nothing there but some odd plushies sitting in the corner. A weird cat and a... potato with batwings? Mascot characters from some anime, probably. He felt like he'd seen that cat before.

"What's that? Oh, wow! They're so cute!" Miyako cooed, floating over.

"Cute? Not really," Daisuke said. There was something creepy about these dolls, as if they could stand up and walk on their own like a horror movie.

"They are cute! You've got no taste," Miyako pouted. "But who the heck brings toys to school and then just forget them there? Was it for a school project or something?"

"Maybe... Well, anyway, let's go. We still need to visit your grave," Daisuke said, turning to leave.

"Oh, yeah."

Miyako followed him out. For a moment, Daisuke thought he felt eyes on his back, but there was nobody but Miyako here.

And even if there was someone hiding, it was probably just another ghost. Nothing to be worried about.

\-----

Daisuke knew the way to the shrine like it was second nature to him. He could let his feet carry him there while lost in thoughts.

Today, he listened to Miyako talk about her favorite actors and every dog they passed by. He glanced at the shop that sold incence on the way, but of course, it was still way beyond the budget of a ten-years-old soccer boy.

One day he'd buy incence and burn a stick of it for everybody's memory. Maybe when he was older and had a job.

They climbed the stone stairs, or rather, Daisuke climbed them and Miyako floated effortlessly. Soon, the local shrine opened before them, and Daisuke entered through the torii gates, closing his eyes as he felt the shrine's energy flow through him. Shrines always had that sort of a feeling to them, as if the guardian of the shrine was there, protecting everyone who entered through the gates.

"Hey, do you feel it too?" Miyako asked, looking at Daisuke.

"The guardian's power? Yeah," Daisuke mumbled as he headed to wash his hands. "I've always been able to feel it. But you can only feel it now that you're a ghost, right?"

"Yeah! It was so weird the first time I entered, I almost thought I was gonna get exorcized or something! But it's a nice feeling. Like I'm safe." Miyako closed her eyes and floated on her back, arms spread. Then she opened an eye to look at Daisuke. "Wait, how'd you know?"

"That always happens. I mean, I've come here with my ghost friends before, you know? They all felt it even though they'd never felt it when they were alive," Daisuke said, shaking the last drops of water from his hands before heading towards the graveyard.

"It's a shrine for Inari-sama, right? I wonder if this is Inari-sama's power," Miyako said. Daisuke shrugged, passing by an old man praying at a grave.

"Where's your grave?" Daisuke mumbled while walking towards Kanna's family grave. He had a certain order he visited his ghost friends in, and Kanna's grave was the closest and therefore the first one. Not all of his old friends had graves here, though. Tome and Yasuhiro's family graves were too far away for Daisuke to travel to, so he just used the main shrine for them.

"Over there," Miyako said, pointing at the area near the big tree. It was near Arata's grave...

Daisuke nodded and kneeled in front of Kanna's family grave, clapping his hands together.

Hey, Kanna. It's been a while. Thanks for everything you did for me, again. It was a rough time for both of us, but at least I had you. I still haven't heard about your murderer since that time. Let's hope he's dead. If you ever meet him, beat him up. Anyway, I'm in fifth grade now. It's been chaotic recently...

"Oh no," Miyako gasped.

Sorry, hold on a bit.

"What is it?" Daisuke asked. Miyako was staring in the direction of her grave.

"Iori's here," Miyako said, voice shaking. "He's visiting my grave."

"Is that bad? Who is he?" Daisuke asked, standing up and looking where Miyako was staring. The only person he saw was a small kid standing there.

"He's... my friend. When I died, he... he was there. We were going home together."

"Oh. Did he-" see you die, Daisuke was about to ask, but Miyako nodded before he could finish. "Oh."

"Yeah." Miyako stared at Iori, her mouth a thin line.

"...Should I go talk to him?" Daisuke asked.

"...He's a sensitive kid," Miyako said, worried.

"What, you don't think I can be sensitive?" Daisuke asked.

"No, that's... Fine, let's go," Miyako said.

"You don't have to worry," Daisuke whispered, heading towards the kid. "I've seen stuff like this before. It'll be fine."

"...Thank you," Miyako said.

Daisuke walked towards Iori, followed by Miyako.

"...He doesn't have a backbag," Miyako murmured when they got closer.

Daisuke wondered briefly what that had to do with anything, but then realized it. They'd come here straight from school, so Daisuke had his backbag. If Iori didn't have his... He hadn't been to school at all.

Daisuke walked to the Inoue family grave. Iori noticed him and stiffened a bit, but stayed there. Daisuke stopped next to him, looking at the grave.

"...Hey. You're a friend of Miyako's, too?" Daisuke asked, not looking at Iori.

"Ah... Yes." Iori said. "My name is Iori Hida. It's a pleasure to meet you." His voice was quiet and calm. The polite, practiced greeting felt like a wall he built between them.

"I'm Daisuke Motomiya," Daisuke said. He turned to Iori and offered a handshake. Iori turned to look at him and shook his hand, bowing slightly.

Polite was the first word that came to mind if Daisuke had to describe Iori. He seemed like an honor student. His expression was serious and betrayed nothing, but the bags under his eyes said a lot.

"So..." Daisuke started, trying to think of something to say. "Are you... doing okay?"

"Hm?" Iori made a questioning sound, staring at Daisuke with his green eyes.

"I mean... It's a lot, to go through. When..." Daisuke made an awkward gesture towards Miyako's grave. "I thought... If you want to talk about anything, I'll listen."

Iori stared, mouth slightly hanging open.

"Why would you do that? You don't know me," he said.

"Well, you look like you're losing sleep over this. And I know it's hard, when you're dealing with stuff like this alone... When you can't even talk about your parents about it. I mean, I dunno if that's what it's like for you, but... I thought it's better to offer than not. Trust me, it's better when you can talk about it with someone."

Iori looked away.

"...It's kind of you to offer. Thank you," he said with a polite, slightly shaky tone. "But I can't accept."

"What? Why not?" Daisuke asked. "It's easier to deal with it if you can talk about it with somebody!"

"I don't... deserve to have it easier," Iori said with a low voice that hitched a little.

"What? There's no way that can be true!" Daisuke said, kneeling down to get closer to Iori's eye level.

"It is. I'm sorry, but I have to refuse," Iori said, trying to keep his voice level. He turned and ran away.

"Wait! Iori!" Daisuke said, scrambling up to his feet and running after the younger boy.

"Iori!" Miyako shouted, flying after the boy and catching up to him easily. Of course, there was nothing she could do but float beside him and uselessly beg him to stop.

Iori had a headstart, but Daisuke had longer legs and was used to running thanks to soccer, so he was catching up to him. They reached the stairs, and Iori was jumping down two steps at a time, and of course he slipped, and Daisuke dove after him, grabbing his wrist, hearing Miyako scream, grabbing the railing and pulling Iori up, and they stopped, and the whole world seemed to stop for a moment as he caught his breath, and Iori was shaking.

...They were safe. That all happened so fast Daisuke didn't realize it, but that could've ended badly, couldn't it?

"Oh my gosh," Miyako said, hovering, her hands over her mouth. "Are you okay? Is Iori okay?"

"Are you okay?" Daisuke breathed out.

"Why did-" Iori sobbed and coughed. "Why did you help me?"

"Of course I helped you!" Daisuke said. "Seriously, what's wrong? Why don't you want help?"

"I don't deserve it!" Iori shouted, crying. "It's... It's my fault! Miyako's... she's...! It's my fault she died!"

"No it's not!" Miyako shouted immediately, crying. "Daisuke, tell him!"

"It's not your fault," Daisuke said.

"Yes it is! You- You don't know anything, it's all because- Because of me...!" Iori's breath kept hitching as he spoke.

"It's not your fault!" Daisuke shouted, grabbing Iori's shoulder. "Unless you pushed her under the car, it's not your fault! Did you do that?"

"No...!" Iori sobbed out, "But..."

"There! It wasn't your fault, so stop that! Miyako would be sad if she saw you blaming yourself!"

"How would you know?!" Iori shouted. "Don't tell me how she'd feel! She's dead!!"

"How would you feel?" Daisuke said, lowering his voice. Iori blinked. "If it was you who was dead. If you were a ghost, and Miyako was alive, and you saw her falling down the stairs, shouting that she deserves it, blaming herself for your death... How would you feel?"

Iori stared at Daisuke, wide-eyed, tears flowing.

Miyako stood next to them, hands tightly shut over her mouth, shaking.

"I... I wouldn't want that," Iori said quietly.

"Right? Do you think Miyako would?"

"...No."

"See? Nobody would want that. If it was me, I wouldn't want that either. Can you stand?" Daisuke asked gently.

"Yeah..." Iori mumbled.

Daisuke stood up, ready to help Iori up, but the boy winced as he tried to put weight on his right foot.

"Did you hurt your leg?" Daisuke asked.

"Ah... yeah, it looks like it..." Iori said, standing on his left foot, supported by Daisuke.

"How'd you come here, are your parents with you?" Daisuke asked.

"No... I walked here on my own." Iori spoke quietly. He seemed a bit out of it.

"All right. I'll help you home. Where do you live?"

"Huh? You don't have to do that," Iori said, looking at Daisuke.

"Of course I don't, but I want to. I mean, how else are you going to get home?" Daisuke took his bag off and turned it around, putting it on over his chest, then turned and kneeled down to offer Iori a piggyback ride.

Iori hesitated, but got on Daisuke's back. Daisuke stood up, tightened his hold to make sure Iori didn't fall off, and started climbing down stairs. Miyako followed, rubbing her eyes. The tears had already disappeared from her cheeks.

"So where do you live?" Daisuke asked again.

Iori told him his address.

"It's in the same building as me," Miyako said.

"All right. I know where that is," Daisuke told Iori. "Just hang on tight, I'll get you home in no time!"

Iori's hold on Daisuke tightened. "...Thank you."

"It's no big deal," Daisuke said. "Nobody should have to deal with stuff like that alone."

Sorry, Kanna, Arata, Touya, Tome, Akane, and Yasuhiro. I'll come back and catch up with you some other time. Right now, this is more important.

\-----

Iori was small and light, so it was easy for Daisuke to carry him all the way to his house. He stayed quiet the whole way there, only speaking up to guide Daisuke to the right floor and door.

"Can you make it from here on your own?" Daisuke asked, setting Iori down in front of his apartment.

"Yes, thank you, but... Would you like to come inside?" Iori asked. "Since you've come all this way."

"Nah, it's fine," Daisuke said, waving his hand. "Go get your foot looked at. See you at school when you're better!"

Daisuke smiled and turned to walk away.

Miyako floated backwards beside him, looking at Iori.

"...I hope he gets better," Miyako said when Daisuke stepped into the elevator.

"Me too," Daisuke said when the doors closed. "He seems like a good kid. I'm glad he listened to me, even though I'm just a stranger... I was kinda nervous about how that was gonna go."

"...Thanks," Miyako said. "For talking to him. I can't believe he thought it was his fault... I hope he can deal with things better from now on."

The elevator reached the ground level, and the doors opened. Daisuke walked silently out.

He stared at his feet as he walked the streets.

Maybe he should've stayed, a sudden thought hits him. Maybe Iori wanted to talk to him more.

...But it'd be awkward to go back now. Besides, he had homework to do, and Ken was going to call later, too.

He hoped Iori would be able to talk to his parents about it.

\-----

"Oh, now that I remembered," Miyako said suddenly, as Daisuke was doing his homework. "You mentioned Iori's parents a couple of times while talking to him? I thought I should let you know, he's only got a mother. His dad died about three years ago."

Daisuke's pen paused.

"Oh," he said, horrified. "Oh, crap."

"It's fine, since you couldn't have known! But Iori's too polite to correct stuff like that, so I thought I should. Just, you know, for future reference."

"Okay. Good to know," Daisuke said, pressing his knuckles against his forehead as the things he said replayed in his head. "Thanks."

Man, today was a mess. At least he had Ken's promised phonecall to look forward to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Edit: okay so I realized maybe I should put some cultural reference explanations here? I'm not an expert or anything so I just did my best at trying to make it seem authentic so, if anybody sees something off lemme know.
> 
> So about the shrine Daisuke goes to, it's meant to be a shinto shrine, the kind you'd usually see in anime and other japanese media. The shrines are meant for worshipping one of the kami in shinto, like Inari and so on. But shinto's a pretty casual religion for most japanese people, it's not like a church or anything I think. There's gates called torii that you pass under when you enter, and if you're proper you'd wash your hands after entering. There's kannushi (shinto priests) and miko (shrine maidens) working there usually and they upkeep the shrine and sell stuff like amulets. You'd go to a shrine usually when you wanna pray for something like luck for new years or exams, some shrines have graveyards near them, others don't? But in Japan you don't really bury people like in the west, you cremate them, and the grave's just there as a place to remember people. Generally families share a single gravestone. Also it's more common to pray for people in your own house's shrine, which generally people have as a small altar with a picture of your deceased family members you wanna pray for. Also you usually smoke a stick of incence in their memory. Since Daisuke's obviously keeping his ghost friends a secret and he doesn't have photos of them either, he can't pray at home so I figured he'd go to a shrine instead. Also he can feel the protecting power of the kami in the shrine because he's sensitive to the supernatural so I figured, if ghosts are real of course spirits and kami and such would be real too. It only makes sense.
> 
> Uh, for the record, I'm pretty sure there's no actual shrine in Odaiba near where Daisuke would live so, just take that as a break from reality for the purposes of the story. This is an AU anyway so like, it's cool. Right? Anyway thanks for reading, I'll try and get the next chapter out sooner than later!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a while, sorry! uhh warning for internalized homophobia again? I guess that should be a general warning for the whole fic due to the era it's set in, which is to say, the canon era, but yeah. Also if you find mistakes or inconsistencies please let me know! I don't have a beta or anything and I literally just fixed one mistake last minute before posting.

Throughout the evening, Daisuke kept glancing at the clock. He knew, fully well, that the clock wasn't going to be nine five minutes after last checking, but he couldn't stay still. He decided to go play Dragon Quest 6 and grind those levels he'd been meaning to, just to take his attention off of the clock.

Don't look at the clock, he told himself. Not until the next level-up.

But as the clock neared nine, Daisuke began to realize there was a problem.

Jun was on the phone, talking the day away, and showed no sign of stopping anytime soon.

There were ten minutes left, and Daisuke's 16-bit blue-haired avatar made his way to the nearest church and wrote today's adventures down in the books. Which is to say, Daisuke saved the game. Then he held down the reset button while flicking the power switch, turning the console off, and stood up, ready to face his sister.

"Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah, right! Yamato's absolutely the coolest!" Jun grinned as she gabbed away on the phone, not sparing a glance at Daisuke as he came up to her.

"Hey," Daisuke said.

"Oh, hold on, my little brother's trying to tell me something." Jun covered the receiver. "What?"

"I gotta use the phone, so can you stop hogging it?" Daisuke told her.

"Huh? Who the heck are you gonna call?" Jun mocked.

"A friend! He said he'd call me at around nine, so get off the phone already!"

Jun stared at Daisuke, who had his fists raised just in case, and glanced at the clock.

"Sure, whatever," she said, then took her hand off the receiver. "Sorry, I gotta go. Call you later, okay? Yeah. Mm. Bye-bee!" With that cheerful goodbye, she hung up the phone and walked off. "You owe me, okay?" she called out, hands behind her head.

"O-okay!" Daisuke said, surprised she'd given up that easily. Was she planning something? Well, either way, at least he had the phone to himself now.

As if on cue, the phone rang, startling Daisuke. He grabbed the receiver and drew it to his ear in a hurry. "Hello!"

"Whoa! Daisuke?"

That wasn't Ken's voice.

"Taichi?" Daisuke asked, disappointed.

"Yeah... You answered the phone really fast! That surprised me. Er, so, how are you doing?" Taichi asked.

"Uhhh... Pretty good, I guess?" Daisuke said, eying the clock.

"You don't sound too sure. Listen, if anything's wrong, you can tell me, you know?"

"Well, actually..."

"Yes?" Taichi asked, eager.

"I'm waiting for an important phone call right now, so..." Daisuke rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. He didn't want to be rude, but he didn't have time for this, even if it was his role model and senpai...

"Oh! Oh, wow, so that's why- Sorry! Bad timing, huh? I'll hang up right away."

"No, I should be sorry. We can talk some other time, right?"

"Right. Well, see ya!"

The line clicked shut and the phone beeped in Daisuke's ear. He placed the receiver down and sighed. Why did Taichi have to choose now to call him... What was he calling about, anyway? Well, nevermind that. He had a bit over five minutes until nine left, and he was going to spend all of it staring at the phone.

Yeah.

Just five minutes now.

Maybe Ken would call before nine. You never knew.

Miyako was laughing at something, watching TV in Daisuke's room. He kinda wished he could talk to her now, but what if somebody else decides to use the phone while he wasn't watching it?

Four minutes left.

Daisuke grabbed a pen and started doodling in the back of the notebook meant for phone numbers.

He wrote "Daisuke Ichijouji" and crossed it over about fifty times, then turned the lines into a ball. Then he drew it into a bomb.

"What are you doing?" mom asked, passing by with a book in her hands.

"Waiting for a phone call," Daisuke answered.

"Oh, from who?"

"My friend Ken... You know, from the soccer game last weekend."

"Oh," mom said, no recognition in her voice. "Well, don't stay up talking too long."

"Yeah," Daisuke said.

Mom went off on her way.

One minute left.

Daisuke doodled a bunch of DQ monsters. A slime here, another slime there, a spotted slime here, a dracky in this corner...

He looked at the clock again.

A minute and a half past nine.

It's okay. Ken never said he'd call exactly at nine.

No, but, what if he called when Taichi was calling and then gave up because the line was busy? What if he gave up on Daisuke forever and- No, that wouldn't happen. He'd call back.

Two minutes past.

He'd call soon.

The phone would ring soon.

There was no reason to be anxious.

Daisuke's pen ripped through the paper. He'd been drawing a single line over and over without stopping, pressing harder and harder.

The phone rang, and Daisuke jumped.

What... he'd been waiting for this, what was he startled for!

He picked the receiver and drew it to his ear.

"Hello? Motomiya residence," he said. Maybe it wasn't Ken.

(pleasebekenpleasebekenplease)

"Daisuke."

"Hey," Daisuke said with a big dumb relieved grin.

"Hi. I hope I didn't keep you waiting," Ken said with that voice of his.

"Nah, I wasn't really waiting or anything."

"Ha!" Jun called from the kitchen.

"Hold on." Daisuke covered the receiver. "Shut up, I'm on the phone!"

Jun blew a loud raspberry, and Daisuke answered in kind.

"Sorry, my sister was being annoying," Daisuke said to Ken.

"So you have a sister," Ken said.

"Yeah, as much as I wish I didn't," Daisuke grumbled.

Ken laughed. "Don't we all."

"Oh, do you have siblings too?"

"No," Ken answered simply.

"Really? You kinda sounded like you do..."

Ken stayed silent for a little while.

"I used to. Now I don't. Shall we talk about something else?" he said.

"Wh- Oh." Cold realization washed over Daisuke. "I'm- I'm sorry, I didn't realize- I shouldn't have mentioned it. Aw, geez..."

"Oh, it's no big deal," Ken said soothingly. "You couldn't have known. Besides, it was a long time ago. I'm over it."

"No, I'm... I should've-" Daisuke ran his hand through his hair, frustrated. Stupid, stupid, stupid...

"I told you, it's fine. Let's talk about something else." There was a commanding tone in Ken's voice, and Daisuke hurried to find something else to say. His eyes fell on the notebook and pen.

"Oh!" he said, grabbing the pen. "You should tell me your phone number now!"

Ken paused. "My phone number?" he repeated.

"Yeah, since we didn't have pens of paper last time you couldn't give it to me, remember? Well, now I've got them right here, so go ahead!"

There was another pause on the other end of the line.

"...I suppose I could," Ken said slowly.

So he did. Way too quickly, and Daisuke had to ask him to repeat it a couple times before he had it written down.

"Alright, I got it!" Daisuke said, jotting the last digit down. "I know you're a genius and all, but not everyone can remember a phone number after being told it once, Ken."

"Yes, I know," Ken said, but it was drowned out by Jun suddenly slamming the table and shouting.

"Are you talking to friggin' Ken Ichijouji over there?!" she yelled, appearing around the corner in front of Daisuke.

"Wh-what's it to you?" Daisuke asked.

"Daisuke?" Ken's voice came from the receiver Daisuke had forgotten to cover. "What's going on?"

"My sister's bothering me ag- HEY!" Daisuke yelled as the phone was yanked from his hands, and Jun held it to her ear.

"Hi! Are you really Ken Ichijouji? I'm Daisuke's sister, Jun!" she said cheerfully as she held Daisuke at an arm's length by the forehead.

"Give it back!" Daisuke yelled, reaching at the phone with his shorter arms. Jun stuck her tongue out at him.

"Aww, don't say that," she said to the phone. "I'm waay more interesting to talk to than my dumb brother, and way cuter too!"

Daisuke really, really, REALLY wanted to tell her that she had no chance, that Ken was HIS boyfriend, but held back. Struggling against her hold, he tried to get to the phone, but stilled as a thought occurred to him.

Maybe she was right, and Ken would rather talk to her than him.

Ken and he had only met once, after all. Daisuke didn't really have any kind of an edge over her.

Unless if Ken only liked boys and not girls at all...?

He didn't know.

He barely knew Ken at all.

He hadn't even known about Ken's sibling.

Why did Ken want him as his boyfriend?

"All right, all right!" Jun's voice cut through Daisuke's thoughts, and she glared at him, handing the phone to him. Daisuke blinked. "Jeez!" Jun said, irritated. "All he keeps saying is "hand the phone to Daisuke, I'm not interested in talking to you." Rude! Child genius or whatever, he's a brat! No wonder you guys are friends!"

Daisuke accepted the phone wordlessly, and Jun marched off, slamming the door shut.

He breathed out, and softly pressed the receiver to the edge of his lips.

"Thanks for telling her that," he said quietly.

"You're welcome. It's only the truth," Ken said.

Daisuke smiled, feeling warm inside.

"Daisuke?" Ken asked.

"Ah, sorry, I... didn't know what to say, other than thanks. Again." Daisuke laughed awkwardly.

"I see. Well, here's something I'd like to say: Want to meet up?"

A date, Daisuke thought, gripping the receiver tighter. He couldn't dare say it out loud, of course.

What he said instead was "Of course I do! When?"

"Next Saturday, three PM. I'd like it if you'd show me around Odaiba."

"Eh, me? I dunno if I can," Daisuke said, already writing down the date and time.

"Why not? It's your hometown, after all."

"I wouldn't know what to show you," Daisuke said with a bit of a self-deprecating laugh. "It's not like there's anything all that interesting here."

"It's interesting because you live there," Ken said, and Daisuke covered his heating up face. "I want to see the places you like to hang out at. Even visiting your school or meeting your friends would be interesting."

"Ah, really," Daisuke laughed. "Okay, but if you get bored remember you asked for it. Where should we meet up?"

"How about the train station?" Ken suggested.

"Okay, sounds good. You're coming by train? You came by taxi last time..."

"Since I was in a hurry," Ken said simply. "But the train's cheaper."

"So even you have to worry about money, huh?"

"It's not like I get rich just by being smart," Ken said.

"Right, haha. I just assumed, since you're a celebrity," Daisuke said.

"I see. I do get paid for some TV appearances and such, but not that much."

"Gotcha."

"Hmm... Sorry, I think I'm getting quite sleepy. I know I'm the one who scheduled this call to be this late, but I can't help being busy," Ken said, yawning.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Daisuke asked.

Ken was silent for a few seconds.

"I mean I'd like to end the call here, since I'm tired."

"Oh! You had a busy day, huh? Sorry to take up your time. See you on Saturday, right?"

"Yes. I'm looking forward to seeing you again," Ken said.

"Me too," Daisuke grinned. "Okay, bye!"

"See you," Ken said.

A click and a beeping noise in Daisuke's ear, and it was over. He set down the receiver with a sigh, and looked at the clock.

It was about 18 minutes past nine.

He'd waited so long, and it was over so soon... No, don't think about it like that. Ken was busy, after all. He'd taken time out of his full schedule just to talk to Daisuke, even if it was only fifteen minutes, and even though he was tired.

And he had a date!

He ripped off the page of the notebook and skipped off to his room.

"Ah, Daisuke!" his mom said as she looked out of the bathroom, toothbrush in hand. "You'd left the TV in your room on!"

"Eh? I- Did I? I did," he said, just as Miyako appeared, floating through the wall with a pout. "Did you turn it off?"

"I did turn it off," mom said.

"She did turn it off," Miyako grumbled at the same time, arms crossed.

"You should be more careful with that! Remember, it comes out of our electricity bill!" mom complained.

"Right! Sorry!" Daisuke said, diving into his room and shutting the door after him. Miyako floated in after him.

"Jeez, and it was at a really good part too! Now I'm never gonna find out how it ended!" she complained. "And what are you so happy about?"

"Eh?" Daisuke asked, and realized he was smiling so hard the corners of his mouth hurt a bit. "Heheh~! Guess who has a date!"

"Whaa!? A date!!" Miyako said and screamed, bouncing around in the air.

Daisuke threw himself on his bed and spun around onto his back, then stared at the time he'd written down. Miyako's whooping was a constant background music, and he laughed.

"Congrats! When? Where?" Miyako asked, floating at eye level in front of Daisuke, and he turned the paper and pointed at it, beaming. "Saturday at three o'clock! Odaiba Station! Wooo, look at you! You date-goer! What are you gonna wear?"

"What am I- I dunno, normal clothes?" Daisuke said, thrown off by the sudden question.

"But it's a date!" Miyako insisted, spreading her arms. "You gotta look good for a date! You put on your cutest clothes and- no, you probably don't have anything like that." She pressed her thumb to the bottom of her jaw, thoughtful. "What do boys wear on dates? Probably the coolest clothes they have. Let's check what you've got! To the closet!"

Miyako floated over to the closet and looked at Daisuke expectantly. He sighed, pushed himself up the bed, making sure to put the precious notebook page on his table before following Miyako and opening his closet.

"Huh, it's very you," Miyako said, looking at the rows of normal T-shirts in various shades of blue. "Oh! What's that one?" she asked, pointing at a bright speck of red and orange inbetween.

"Oh, that's..." Daisuke reached in and pulled out the flame T-shirt, showing it to Miyako. "I got it since it's cool, but... it's a bit flashy, so I've never worn it outside..."

"It is flashy, but it's cool! You should wear it!"

"No!" Daisuke said, pulling the shirt away from Miyako's view. "I can't wear it on a first date. He'd think it looks dumb."

"No, no, it's cool! It's a waste if you don't wear it, right?!" Miyako insisted, getting closer.

"I said no! I'll wear something normal. I don't... I can't wear this. I'd be nervous anyway, and wearing this would just make it worse."

"Oh... I guess you've got a point," Miyako said, backing off and floating up higher. "Maybe on second or third date, then!"

Daisuke hugged the shirt to his chest. Second or third date... Would he really have those? Wouldn't Ken get tired of him before that? No, don't think like that. It's going well, right? Ken liked him. Going on more date after the first one was only natural.

Unless he screwed this one up badly.

No, that couldn't happen! He wouldn't let it happen! Ken and him would have a great time and Ken would want to go out with him again!

Even so, the various ways the date could be ruined played out in his head as he tried to sleep.

\-----

"Motomiya!"

Daisuke looked up, and saw his classmate Sawatari standing at the door, gesturing him to come over. Daisuke stood up and made his way through the classroom.

"What's up?" Daisuke asked.

"Somebody wanted to talk to you," Sawatari said, then stepped away from the doorway, letting Daisuke past.

Daisuke made eye contact with Iori, and went, "Ah." He stepped outside, and the kid bowed to him.

"Thank you again for your help yesterday," Iori said. "I'm sorry for the trouble."

"It's no problem," Daisuke said. "Is your leg okay?"

"Uhn," Iori nodded, looking at his foot and raising it slightly. "It still hurts a little, but it was just a little sprain. It's all thanks to you carrying me home that it's in good shape now. Otherwise I could've hurt it further."

Daisuke nodded with a smile. "I'm glad you're feeling better. And I don't just mean the foot."

"It's thanks to you," Iori said. "The truth is, I was burdened by those thoughts so much I couldn't even go to school. Being able to talk about it helped me realize how bad it was."

"I figured... I was worried I couldn't help you enough," Daisuke said.

"No, you did a lot! Erm, actually," Iori fidgeted, "I told my mother about you and she'd like to meet you, if you don't mind. She's making ohagi today, so, if you'd like you could come over to eat some."

Miyako gasped behind Daisuke, who glanced at her, startled. She'd left to circle around school earlier and he hadn't noticed her some back.

"Motomiya-san?" Iori asked, and Daisuke turned back to face him.

"Ah, sorry... Of course I'd like to come over! But I've got soccer practice today, so I'll come over after that. Is that okay?"

"Of course!" Iori said, expression lightening up. "Anytime that's convenient for you!"

"Just save some ohagi for me, okay? Oh, and you can just call me Daisuke."

Iori nodded. "Daisuke-san, then. I'm looking forward to it!"

Daisuke waved at the boy, who bowed before leaving. Then he turned to Miyako, who was watching Iori go, a heartbreaking look in her eyes.

"...His mom made ohagi the day I died. We were supposed to eat them when I fixed their computer."

Oh, Daisuke didn't say, but moved his lips as if to say. He nodded sympathetically, then made his way back inside the classroom as he noticed the teacher approaching from a distance.

"Hey, Daisuke?" Miyako asked, and Daisuke looked at her. "Could I, uh... maybe possess you when we're at Iori's place so I could eat ohagi?"

Daisuke nodded without hesitation, and Miyako smiled sadly.

The teacher arrived, and Miyako sat down on the table next to Daisuke's. It was kind of bizarre to see her sit there while the girl sitting on that seat just looked through her, as if she didn't exist.

Well, it was better than a ghost sitting in front of Daisuke himself.

Briefly, he thought of Touya, the ghost he'd met four years ago. Despite what hell that kid made Daisuke's life into for those few months before he passed on, Daisuke kind of missed him. The older he got, the more he realized just how young the boy had died... Ugh, and there came those familiar regrets. If only he'd been able to do more for Touya...

No. Shake that off, it's math time.

\-----

A familiar face caught Daisuke's attention in the middle of soccer practice, but he kept his concentration and the ball to himself, weaving between two opponents, and passed to his teammate.

Once the goal was made, he looked back to Taichi, who waved at him, and jogged off to see him. Miyako, who was sitting on the ground nearby, slid closer.

"Taichi-senpai! What are you doing here?" Daisuke asked.

"Oh, you know, just happened to be around and decided to come see you," Taichi said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Say, Daisuke-"

Whatever Taichi was about to say was interrupted as Daisuke's older teammates had noticed Taichi as well and came to say hi to their former captain.

Daisuke stepped back and let them talk, and laughed with the others as Taichi put one of the guys in a headlock and noogied him.

Eventually, the group dispersed, and Daisuke was left alone with Taichi. (And Miyako.)

"So..." Taichi started. "You know, my offer stands."

"Huh?" Daisuke asked.

"You know, from yesterday, when I called you? Remember?"

"Oh, right!" Daisuke snapped his fingers. "I remember now."

"Yeah... I meant it. Daisuke, you can talk to me about anything."

Taichi looked directly into Daisuke's eyes.

Daisuke looked away and laughed, awkward.

"Okay? I'll keep that in mind if I've got something I want to talk about."

"Don't you have something right now?" Taichi asked. Daisuke took an instinctual step backwards.

What was this suddenly about? Daisuke's mind was racing. Did Taichi hear him talking to Miyako or something? What had he heard? He tried to think of a time when he'd been careless and Taichi was present. He came up with nothing, and that unnerved him even more. What did Taichi know? How did he know?

"Uh, no, I don't? I don't know what you're talking about?" Daisuke said, glancing at Miyako, and then quickly looking away.

"Hey. Hey, it's okay," Taichi said, lowering his voice. "I'm your senpai, you know. You can talk to me. I won't tell anyone, okay?"

Taichi stepped closer, and Daisuke stepped back. He realized he'd actually stepped through Miyako as she quickly fwooshed away to float next to him. Sorry, Miyako.

"Um, I, I really don't-"

"BIG BROTHER."

Taichi jumped at the voice, and Hikari marched over.

"I told you not to pressure Daisuke!" she said, placing herself between them and staring Taichi up, and he withered under her glare.

"I was just-" Taichi started, but Hikari pushed him back, further away from Daisuke.

"No, big brother. I know you mean well, but I also told you to not bother him!" Having pushed him about a meter away from Daisuke, she turned to Daisuke, her back against Taichi. "I'm sorry about him," she said, hands behind her back. "He, uh, kinda heard about me rejecting you, and, well..."

"Oh," Daisuke said, his entire body relaxing. So that's all it was... Taichi was still looking at Daisuke, but didn't dare say anything from behind his sister. "No need to worry about me, senpai," Daisuke told him. "I'm fine!"

"W-well, that's good," Taichi said, timid.

"Jeez, big brother... Nobody asked you to meddle with this," Hikari said, turning back to Taichi as she kept pushing him. "Let's go already!"

"I-I can walk on my own!" Taichi said, stepping out from Hikari's reach, making her stumble a bit.

The siblings walked towards the school building, having a heated but quiet conversation on the way. Daisuke stared after them, but neither of them looked back.

"Wow," Miyako said, arms crossed. "That was weird."

"Phewww... I thought he'd overheard me talking to you or something, that was creepy..." Daisuke sighed, walking over to the waterspouts.

"Creepy?" Miyako asked, as Daisuke turned the water on and leaned in to take a sip. The cool water flowed past him lips and he managed to get some in his mouth, too.

"It wasn't like him... He'd usually be more direct. I guess he was just awkward..." Daisuke screwed the water off.

"I'll say! It's not really how a big brother would usually act about his little sister, right? I mean, you'd think it'd be, "You want to date my sister? Over my dead body!" and not "My sister rejected you? Ouch, tough. You wanna talk about it?" Right?"

Daisuke stared at Miyako.

"Right? I'm not wrong, am I? I mean, that's more like how Ma- my brother would react," Miyako said.

"I guess that sounds big brother-like... I could see Taichi doing that, but not Hikari agreeing to that."

"Ooh, that's true too... Hikari would chew him out if he tried to tell her who she can date, I bet," Miyako said.

Daisuke laughed. "Right? That's how she is. She's gotten strong. You know, she was pretty shy and quiet when we first met. You wouldn't think that now, right? She's gotten out of her shell and started shining brighter than ever."

Daisuke blushed, embarrassed by his own words after realizing what he said, but Miyako looked contemplative.

"Shining brighter... That's true," she said, smiling gently. "Heh, guess we haven't gotten over her yet, huh?"

"Yeah..." Daisuke said, then remembered something. "By the way, didn't you mention you had a crush on Taichi-senpai?"

"Oh. Ah, yeah..." Miyako rubbed the back of her neck. "But it's just a small one, don't worry about it! Besides, not like I could make you confess for me. You've got Ken, after all..."

"Yeah," Daisuke said, his face heating up just a bit. "But maybe you could write a letter or something? And to the others you wanted to confess too. Sora and Koushiro, wasn't it... Does that mean Sora Takenouchi and Koushiro Izumi? Or somebody else?"

"Whoa, you remembered all that?" Miyako asked, blinking.

"Of course I remember. It's what you want to do before disappearing, after all, so it's important," Daisuke said.

"Wow... And how did you know who I meant? Don't tell me, you're crushing on them too? Are our tastes that similar?" Miyako teased.

"No!" Daisuke realized his voice was too loud. "No. They used to be in the soccer club, so they were the first people with those names that came to mind."

"Koushiro-senpai was in the soccer club?" Miyako asked.

"Yeah, a few years ago for a while. He never played in matches and he often skipped practice, but he was Taichi-senpai's best friend, so I remember him... I saw him at the Yagami home a couple of times when I was visiting."

"Huh... You know, Taichi-senpai did show up sometimes at the computer club to see Koushiro-senpai. Hey, hey," Miyako nudged him with an intangible elbow. "You think they're boyfriends?"

"What? No way," Daisuke said, but thought about it. He shook his head. "Anyway, it's not my business. I gotta return to practice now."

He turned around and marched back to the field before anybody noticed he was slacking off, but the thought of Taichi dating a boy kept leaping at him.

Why did that idea seem so appealing? He didn't want to date Taichi himself, right? No, it wasn't that. It'd be cool, that's all. It'd be cool if Taichi was like that.

Yeah. Taichi was his ideal. Not as in somebody he wanted to date, he was somebody he wanted to be. So if he liked boys, then... that'd be the absolute best.

Well. Not likely.

Daisuke could never tell Taichi he liked boys. Because he didn't know how he'd react. He'd be disgusted, right? Because that's how people are.

That's how people are, Daisuke, Arata had said with a smile that hated itself.

Daisuke didn't want Taichi to be hate him, so he wouldn't tell. That was the end of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since this is set in 2002 cellphones were becoming more common even for kids to have in Japan, but most of the kids don't seem to have them in the anime. Headcanons: Daisuke doesn't have one since his parents don't see why he'd need one, Miyako doesn't have one because she's the youngest of four siblings and therefore the last one in her family who'd get one, Ken doesn't have one because he doesn't want to be easily reachable by people, Iori doesn't have one because he and his family are pretty old-fashioned, and Hikari and Takeru generally use their D-Terminals instead, though since Takeru's parents seem pretty wealthy and live apart he's pretty likely to have a cellphone too.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter: contains a scene that might cause second-hand embarrassment, and a brief scene vaguely reminiscent of a panic attack.

Miyako lingered in front of one door on the way to Iori's apartment. Daisuke looked back, and waited.

She looked up and saw him waiting, so she quickly floated to his side.

"Sorry," she said.

"No problem," Daisuke said, and they walked to the Hida door. Daisuke rang the bell and waited. Soon, he heard footsteps from inside.

The door opened, and a woman he'd never seen looked at her.

"Uh." Daisuke froze, then realized he should've expected Iori's mom to be the one to open the door.

"Oh! Are you Motomiya-kun?" the woman asked, and Daisuke nodded stiffly. "Please, do come in!" She stepped aside.

"T-thank you," Daisuke said, stepping inside. He noticed Iori walking up behind her, and put a hand up to greet him. "Hey, Iori!" Wait, whoops, he'd picked up the way Miyako referred to Iori by mistake. Considering how formal Iori was, calling him by his first name was probably pretty rude!

Iori blinked, but didn't seem put off by Daisuke's manners. Instead, he bowed and said, "Hello, Daisuke. I'm glad to see you here."

Oh. Iori responded by going more casual himself, probably just to make Daisuke feel more comfortable. That was... really nice of him. "Thanks," Daisuke smiled.

"Make yourself at home," Iori's mom said. "I'll go make tea."

"Sorry for the bother," Daisuke automatically replied. Iori's mom smiled and walked off. She had eyes just like Iori's, Daisuke thought. Dark green and thoughtful.

Daisuke looked around, and caught Miyako fidgeting as she glanced around. He wanted to ask her what was up, but she was lost in her thoughts, not even looking Daisuke's way. Later, maybe.

Anyway, what now? What was he supposed to do other than wait for Iori's mom to come back? Iori's house was clean, organized and as traditional as a modern apartment could get, and Daisuke felt out of place.

"Daisuke?" Iori asked, sounding like he was trying to get used to not saying the honorific. "Should I show you around?"

"Yeah, okay!" Daisuke said.

Iori's soft footsteps shuffled ahead as he showed Daisuke around. Daisuke was paying only half attention, distracted by Miyako. She stopped in front of the computer and just... stayed there, staring at it. Daisuke wondered what was up.

"Daisuke?" Iori's voice snapped him out, and he realized he'd just been staring at the computer as far as anyone else could see. "If you want to use the computer, it doesn't work that well, but..."

"No, no, that's fine! I wasn't- Thanks for offering though," Daisuke said, stammering through his excuses, or lack of excuses, really. Iori just nodded and continued his tour. Miyako floated by, whispered a quick "sorry" to Daisuke, then followed Iori.

"This is my room," Iori said, opening the door to his immaculately clean room, the opposite of Daisuke's own room. Not a single sock on the floor. Very Iori-like, but also very uncomfortable. Daisuke felt like he was tracking dirt inside just by being here.

The one detail in Iori's room that caught Daisuke's attention was a set of Kendo armor, and some bamboo swords neatly placed on a small table.

"You do Kendo?" Daisuke asked.

"Yes, my grandfather owns a Dojo," Iori said.

"Oh! Cool," Daisuke said.

Well, that was as much of a conversation as he managed to get out of that subject.

"Daisuke," Iori said, fidgeting a bit. "I'm, er, sorry for inviting you on such a short notice..."

"Huh? It's fine," Daisuke said, avoiding leaning against anything.

"I thought my invitation might've been too forward... If you'd rather not have come, I apologize."

"No, really, it's fine! I came because I wanted to!" Daisuke insisted. "Do I seem like I didn't?"

"You just seem... uncomfortable, I thought... If that's not the case, excuse my presumption."

"Oh. Uh, well..." Daisuke scratched the back of his head. "You're not wrong... I mean, it's always awkward visiting somebody's house for the first time, you know?"

"Ah. I see," Iori said, relaxing a bit.

"Boys!" Iori's mother's voice rang out. "The tea is ready!"

"Thank you!" Iori answered her, and motioned to Daisuke to go ahead. Daisuke got the hint, walking ahead of him out of the room and into the dining room, where Iori's mother had set up cups of green tea and a plate of ohagi.

"Whoa, looks good!" Daisuke said, and Iori's mother smiled.

"Thank you, Daisuke-kun," she said. "Go ahead, sit down."

Daisuke took a seat, and Iori sat down next to him, and his mother opposite of him. Miyako floated to the table as well, setting her jaw on the table and watching the ohagi like a hawk. Food could still get her out of that wistful state, huh. Then again, she hadn't eaten a thing since she died, huh? So really, it was understandable.

Iori took an ohagi and took a bite out of it, and Daisuke followed suit. And HOLY CRAP was it good. Sweet and soft, with a slightly crunchy, yet sticky outer layer of red bean paste. Were these fresh beans? It was unlike any bean paste Daisuke had ever tasted.

"These are amazing!" Daisuke said through a mouthful of food, then started chewing it faster when it came out unintelligible. He swallowed. "These are amazing!" he tried again.

"My, thank you very much," Iori's mom said.

Miyako's stare drilled into Daisuke as he ate. He finished the ohagi and washed it down with tea.

"Uh, could I... I mean, I have to go to the bathroom for a bit..." Daisuke said, excusing himself. Iori had already pointed out where to find it earlier, so Daisuke headed right in. Closing the door, he whispered, "What's up, Miyako?"

Miyako poked her head in through the door. "You promised to let me possess you, remember?"

"Of course I remember. Go ahead. Nod to me when I can return, okay? Don't eat all of them," Daisuke whispered, and spread his arms to let Miyako in.

"What, I can eat more than one?" Miyako asked.

"You haven't eaten since you died, right? And you want to talk to Iori, too. I can tell. Just don't act too weird as me."

Miyako blinked, stunned. "Wow... I didn't think... I mean..." She fidgeted. "I wasn't really... Oh god, I'm gonna have to talk to Iori and his mom if I possess you, don't I?"

"What? You didn't realize?" Daisuke whispered. "I kinda thought that was part of the plan. Do you want to pass for now?"

"No! No, I..." Miyako spun around, then shook her head, agitated. "I'm... I can do this! I'll do this. For the ohagi. And... Yeah. I'll do this. But you have to switch places with me as soon as I nod to you, okay? Stay nearby!"

"Yeah, of course I will," Daisuke muttered. "Sheesh, like that's even a question."

"Thanks. Okay!" Miyako took a diving pose. "Here goes!"

She swooshed in. Daisuke flinched at the sudden cold sensation, but then he was dragged out of his body, and the strange feeling of nothingness and weightlessness set in, and he looked at himself. Miyako looked at him and nodded, smiling, then opened the bathroom door, walking out. Daisuke floated after her. She headed back to the dining room with the casual and confident steps of somebody who'd been here a hundred times.

"Sorry for the wait!" she said in a sing-song tone that didn't sound like Daisuke. She coughed. "I mean, uh. You didn't eat everything while I was gone? No? Yay!" She sat down on Daisuke's seat, grabbing an ohagi while avoiding looking at either Iori or his mother.

...She sucked at acting like him. Daisuke floated to the opposite side of the table, floating next to Iori's mother and keeping his eyes on Miyako. Had she been this bad at acting like him when she confessed to Hikari and Ken? ...Yeah, but then he had other things to worry about.

Miyako took a bite of her ohagi, and paused a bit, her eyes - Daisuke's eyes - starting to glisten, and she started blinking rapidly. Oh no, please don't start crying, Miyako, this visit has been awkward enough. Of course, Daisuke understood why she reacted like that, but still! Be strong, Miyako! Keep it in!

Miyako started coughing suddenly.

"D-Daisuke, are you all right?" Iori asked, startled.

Miyako coughed in return, tears leaking from her eyes, and took a big sip from her tea. Then she set it down hard and exhaled.

"Whewww... Ahem, sorry, just..." she coughed a few more times. "Ch-choked on it for a bit..."

"Oh, thank goodness you managed to cough it out," Iori's mother said. "I'm glad you didn't try to hold the coughing in. A lot of people die that way, you know. I hear on fancy dinner parties, when they're too embarrassed to start coughing, people end up dying from choking more often than usual."

Miyako stared at her, then laughed a bit, weakly. "Thanks, Mrs. Hida, that's good to know!" She wiped at her tears, and laughed more. "Always good to know how close I was to dying."

"Are... you sure you're all right?" Iori's mother asked, her hand hovering a bit.

"Yeah, I'm just... Haha, don't mind me." She looked off to the side, then back to Iori's mother. "Where do you keep the tissues?"

"I'll go get them!" Iori said, already down from his chair. He walked off, to the direction Miyako had glanced at earlier, Daisuke noticed.

Iori disappeared behind the corner. There was a brief silence, and Miyako coughed one more time.

"Daisuke-kun," Iori's mother started, "I really want to stress how grateful I am to you."

"Oh," Miyako said, glancing at Daisuke, then at her ohagi, then back to Iori's mother.

"The truth is... ever since Miyako-san died, Iori hadn't gone to school once. He was... he'd gotten so quiet, and it felt like he spent all his days in a daze... You can't imagine how worried I was, as his mother. I had no idea what kind of thoughts he was lost in, and he wouldn't open up to me. He'd pretend he was okay, but he couldn't get the energy to get up in the mornings, and when he went outside it was only to practice kendo or... to visit her grave. When he met you..."

Iori's mother teared up.

"When he came back last evening, I could tell right away something had changed. He'd cried... You know, he'd barely even managed to cry in the last few weeks. And I helped him bandage his leg, and he told me about you, and about what you two had talked about, and we cried together. And then he said he wanted to go to school again, and I was just... I was so happy. I wanted to let you know how much you've done for us. There's no way I can ever thank you enough."

"I..." Miyako was crying too. Daisuke felt... like he was crying but also not. He held a hand to his cheek and came away with something that looked like water sticking to his fingers. He was crying. So this was how it felt... He could remember and almost feel like how crying felt in his human body, with the nose and the throat and the eyes and the mouth, and it felt a bit more real, but not quite real. It felt wrong. It felt empty. It felt... It didn't feel at all. Nothing felt at all.

"I don't-" Miyako sniffed, "I'm... You're welcome." She stared down, at the half-eaten ohagi in her hand, then looked at Daisuke's face. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she nodded quickly.

Daisuke got the signal, and dove right in into his body. Thank god, he thought as warmth and feeling returned to him and he felt his throat constrict and his lips shake painfully, and let out a sob. Thank god she let him back, thank god he had a body, thank god he didn't have to feel that wrongness anymore, oh god how did Miyako and everyone else handle it.

Daisuke breathed out, and in, shakily, then swallowed. He had to continue the conversation Miyako started.

"I... I'm not sure how... w-what I did was anything special... B-but I'm really, really glad it- it helped. That I helped."

"You helped," Iori's mother said with a sniff. "You helped so much."

"Well... You're welcome. I'm glad he's doing better," Daisuke said, wiping his face into a sleeve. "Where are those tissues, though..."

"Here," Iori announced, appearing with a pack of tissues immediately. Daisuke blinked as Iori offered the box to him, and grabbed one, blowing his nose. ...He was waiting for us to finish talking, wasn't he. What a good kid. But wasn't it tough listening to that? ...Ah, on a closer look, Iori's eyes were misty, and there was a bit of tissue poking out of his pocket.

Iori seemed like the type that'd endure suffering alone and didn't want to be a bother to others. But at least he let himself cry, even if it was when nobody was looking.

"Well then," Iori's mother said with a smile after drying her tears. "Shall we continue eating now?"

"Ah, sure," Daisuke said. He glanced at Miyako, who grumbled.

"Yeah, you can eat the rest of it. I'd just start crying again," she sighed, crossing her arms.

Daisuke shoved the rest of his ohagi in his mouth and chewed. Iori's mother was a fantastic cook, and if Daisuke hadn't already made up his mind to be friends with Iori, he would've made that decision here and now just to get to eat more of these.

Speaking of Iori's mother, she got up and fetched a waste bin and dropped her bundled up tissue in, then brought it over to Daisuke and Iori. Daisuke threw his in, and Iori, a bit ashamed, dug his out of his pocket and dropped it in. Nobody commented on it, not even Miyako, and Iori's mother took the bin back and set it in place. See, Iori? Everything's okay, and there's no need to hide your crying. Maybe that'd be better said out loud, but by the time Daisuke had chewed up and swallowed his ohagi, saying it felt like a bad idea.

"Man, I'm full," Daisuke said instead. "Hey, would it be okay if I took some ohagi home with me?"

"Of course!" Iori's mother said, already taking out a container. "For your family?"

"Yeah," Daisuke said.

Miyako counted as family, right?

\-----

Iori came to see Daisuke off at the door.

"Thank you for visiting," he said, bowing. "I'll see you again."

So formal. Daisuke got the sudden impulse to ruffle that hair, and followed up on it. Iori looked up, startled and confused. Daisuke laughed.

"I should be thanking you! Thanks for inviting me. Let's hang out again sometime, okay?" he said.

Iori blinked, then smiled, smoothing his hair. "Yes!"

\-----

Miyako paused as they passed by her family's shop.

"Wanna go inside?" Daisuke whispered.

Miyako shook her head. "Not today."

Daisuke nodded. She was still avoiding it...

"...But, you know... Maybe tomorrow, or the day after that..." Miyako said, not looking that way. "I gotta face them someday. I just... I don't know what to do." She crossed her hands, fidgeting. "I don't want to see them so sad. But I don't know what to do about that. But I also don't want them to forget about me?? Agh! What do I do?!" She threw her fists out, complaining loudly and rolling around in the air.

"I think it's okay to not do anything," Daisuke whispered. "Only they can decide to move on."

Miyako stilled, then rolled over, staring at Daisuke's face as she floated backwards at Daisuke's walking speed.

"Uughhhh," she groaned. "Why is being dead so difficult."

"Well, if it's any consolation," Daisuke said, lifting the bag he was carrying, "You get to eat these when we get home."

"What! Really?" Miyako brightened up. "Are they all for me?"

"If I can sneak them past my family, yeah," Daisuke said, lowering the bag and his voice when he noticed a person walking nearby.

"Yay! Gonna chow down and not cry tonight!" Miyako cheered, then paused. "Wow, my standards for a fun time sure dropped when I died."


End file.
